One in 10 Brits willing to risk job for post-holiday quarantine

A reported 10% of UK workers have said they would risk losing their job over going on holiday and having to quarantine when they come back.

The main reason workers said they would be willing to risk their job was because their wellbeing was more important than work (31%).

A similar proportion (28%) also said they were willing to risk it because they felt they deserved a break after the past 18 months.


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“Given that, for the most part, people in the UK have been deprived of holidays for over a year, it isn’t too surprising that so many people are willing to risk their job to go abroad,” said Bernat Farrero, CEO of Factorial HR, which conducted the study.

Under half (48%) of respondents said they had been on holiday this year, and of that percentage only one in five (21%) said they had managed to go abroad.

This is unsurprising given that a prior study from 2020 showed the majority of employees were planning to carry over their annual leave into 2021.

The majority of respondents (61%) said they want their annual leave allowance to be higher, and 12% think it should be unlimited.

The prevalence of working from home has reportedly increased incidences of employee burnout during the pandemic.

To alleviate such negative effects the pandemic has had on employee mental health more and more businesses are offering paid burnout leave, an HR magazine LinkedIn poll from July found.

Factorial HR’s study is based on the answers of more than 2,100 British workers over the age of 18 who are currently in full-time employment and regularly went on holiday abroad prior to the pandemic.