Past campaigns

No Leave, No Life

Balmoral Beach, Sydney, New South Wales © Tourism Australia

In 2005, Tourism Australia commissioned a research study to look at annual accrued leave in Australia. Findings from this research suggested that this was a huge issue within organisations.

The research led Tourism Australia to develop an innovative solution to address the issue of annual leave stockpiling – and grow Australia’s domestic travel market at the same time.

No Leave, No Life gave Australian companies and employees the help they need to plan and take a holiday, and identified the workplace issues that were the main barriers that prevent employees taking up their annual leave.

Tourism Australia worked with the leading peak bodies in Australia to develop and deliver the No Leave, No Life program practical tools to support people in taking and planning leave.

The campaign also gave case studies from organisations tackling the issue and testimonials from opinion leaders.

Key findings

Aussies had over 128 million days of annual leave stockpiled
1 in 4 of Australian full time employees are leave stockpilers (Roy Morgan Research)
57% of stockpilers considered work related barriers prevent them from taking leave, including concerns about work load before and after the event, lack of resources to cover and scheduling leave when desired.
80% cited personal barriers as the cause including lack of available funds, partner’s availability and deliberate accrual for emergencies.

Program overview

With critical ramifications for business, individuals and the Australian economy, annual leave stockpiling has become one the hottest workplace issues. As the financial liability of business grows and the health and wellbeing of employees suffers, broader industries such as domestic tourism are also struggling.

Full-time Australian employees have built up a staggering *129 million days and $33.3 billion of stockpiled annual leave. Research shows that no matter the size or nature of the business, annual leave stockpiling is an entrenched workplace issue that needs to be moved up the business agenda.

Introducing No Leave, No Life

Research showed that, despite society’s increased understanding of the benefits of achieving work/life balance, this knowledge is rarely acted on in the workplace.

No Leave, No Life was a program which was developed to give employees and employers the tools to encourage planning and taking leave, and also a range of travel offers to help them take a break in Australia.

No Leave, No Life provided employees and employers with an understanding of:

The essential facts about the benefits to all parties in the work place of taking leave
The negative health and financial affects that result from not taking leave
The barriers and pressures that employees and employers feel that stop them tackling the issue
Strategies to help employees and employers work together to overcome these issues

Key elements

The No Leave, No Life website offered employees and employers important information and practical tools to support them in taking and planning leave.

Employer toolkit

A simple and practical 3-step training module was created to help employers:

Understand the very real negative impact of not taking leave on businesses and their employees
Understand the factors influencing both employee and employer attitudes to taking leave
Implement strategies to encourage taking leave
Understand requirements for the successful implementation of these strategies in their workplace