Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Holidays key to keeping work and life in balance

By Amy Wiggins
Bay of Plenty Times·
31 Jan, 2016 02:45 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Photo/file

Photo/file

As much as I love my job, I always look forward to going on holiday.

It's those four weeks every year when you get the chance to relax, do whatever you feel like, go somewhere new and recharge.

I was surprised to read that research by Expedia found Kiwi workers only tended to take three-quarters of their leave each year.

I look forward to my breaks and carefully plan what I'm going to do with them to make the most of the time off. The nature of the news industry means we often work weekends and public holidays so any decent break is a treat.

Amy Wiggins
Amy Wiggins
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recently I've found it can become difficult to sync your holidays with your spouse's.

My husband's company shuts down for three weeks over Christmas and New Year but the news never stops so I'm at work for at least some of that period.

My husband didn't have any leave to take until the end of last year so I held off taking a break until about October.

It had been a year since I had more than a few days off at once and it was a break well needed.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Read more: No trouble using holiday time in the Bay

It made me realise just how important it is to take a break every year. While you're in the swing of things it's easy to keep going. It's not until you stop you realise just how tired you were.

The Expedia research found many Kiwis viewed holidays as "a guilty pleasure". They are certainly not that.

Holidays are an important part of achieving a work-life balance and a happy workforce. I'm sure most employers would not only be happy for their staff to take breaks but encourage it.

As a manager I know my team works best if they are refreshed. Often they return to work happier and more productive.

If you work with your boss to find a time which suits you both you shouldn't have to feel bad about taking a break.

One thing I was not surprised by was how many New Zealanders preferred to bank up their holidays and take them all at once.

The survey said 26 per cent of New Zealand workers reported a desire to "bank" annual leave to use the following year, well above the global average of 19 per cent.

I can understand that. With such limited time you want to make the most of it and plan an exciting getaway. Banking up four or more weeks of leave gives you a good chance to go somewhere and spend some decent time seeing the sights. It fits in with the love of travelling New Zealanders are known for.

Also, being at the bottom of the world means it takes a fair bit of time and money to get most places so you want to make the most of it and spend a good amount of time there.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That said, living in the Bay of Plenty means you don't have to go far afield for a great break.

Really, there's no reason not to take a break to recharge and refresh yourself.

In New Zealand we're lucky that employers legally have to give employees four weeks off a year plus public holidays. Take the time off and enjoy it.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Māori fighter stars in Netflix boxing event

07 Jul 01:24 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

06 Jul 10:51 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

06 Jul 06:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Māori fighter stars in Netflix boxing event

Māori fighter stars in Netflix boxing event

07 Jul 01:24 AM

Cherneka Johnson's fight will stream live on Netflix, a first for a Kiwi boxer.

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

06 Jul 10:51 PM
Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

06 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

06 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP