This is according to a just-released mental health survey conducted by Pharma Dynamics. The company polled over 1000 working men and women in South Africa during the past month about work stressors and vacation time, to get behind the worrying trend.
Mariska van Aswegen, spokesperson of Pharma Dynamics, says what makes matters worse is that almost half (49%) of those that will be taking an end-of-year break, won't be doing so without checking and responding to work emails and phone calls whilst on holiday, which is a sure-fire recipe for burnout.
By this time of the year most working South Africans suffer from a phenomenon known as 'cerebral overload' - it is when you simply cannot meet the ongoing demands to process any further information. She warns that too little time off and not taking a proper break from work is detrimental for one's health, mental well-being and relationships.
"The amount of information employees have to manage in their jobs continues to increase at an alarming rate. As things stand, South African professionals spend an average 9.5 hours of their day in the office, more so than their counterparts in the US and UK who respectively spend 8.8 and 8.2 hours in the office daily.
"When you live in a chronic state of unresolved stress and anxiety, your brain starts to mildly freeze and that's when indecisiveness or 'analysis paralysis' starts to set in. You struggle to think straight and it becomes increasingly difficult to make the right calls when it comes to even the most mundane tasks. The brain requires substantial downtime to remain industrious. Taking a proper holiday is as indispensable to the brain as H2O is to the body."
Even though 75% of respondents whole-heartedly agreed that taking a holiday greatly affects their overall happiness, why then do they take so little time off to recoup?
When asked about how much annual leave would satisfy survey participants, the majority, 37% said 30 days would make a significant difference, while 63% cited anything between 18 and 27 days as reasonable.
Those suffering from anxiety or compounded stress during the holidays can contact the company's toll-free helpline on 0800 205 026, which is manned by trained counsellors who are on call from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
