1 in 3 not coming to work on Friday, but how many will ‘chuck a sickie’?

Real party of guys and girls getting drunk
By sophieharrison


As Australia Day falls on a Thursday this year, giving us an awkwardly placed working day on Friday, the question stands: Should it be an ‘unofficial’ long-weekend?

The country seems to think so, with 1 in 3 Aussie workers predicted to take a ‘sickie’ or annual leave day after Australia Day this year, bracing for a four-day holiday – that’s 5 per cent more than in 2016!

The_Famous_Bondi_Beach_(6644010871)

Bondi Beach, Sydney

The findings come from a survey of a nationally representative, independent panel of 1004 Australian adults conducted by an independent research agency, and commissed by HotelsCombined – the world’s leading hotel price comparison platform.

Key findings include:

  • One in three (35%) of Aussie workers will give themselves a four-day holiday from 25-29 January
  • 29% of Aussie workers have planned an annual leave day on Friday 27th January
  • 11% of 20-somethings will “chuck a sickie” on the Friday
  • 35% of Victorians will take annual leave on Friday 27th – more than any other state!

These findings are slightly higher than in 2016, where the dates fell on the opposite end of the week. Last year, Australia Day fell on a Tuesday, leaving Monday as a working day. Or a sick day. Or an annual leave day.

Chris Rivett, Head of Marketing Australia and New Zealand at HotelsCombined, identified a few reasons why many Australians might take Friday 27th off work:

“Firstly, we only get a handful of public holidays a year and it’s an opportunity to actually go away for a good break. Secondly, being in between a weekend and public holiday, Friday is likely to be a relatively easy work day. Also with school starting back again on the following Monday, it makes sense that many will extend their holidays by one additional day this year.”

An analysis of HotelsCombined’s booking data around Australia for 2016 forecasts where many Aussies are likely to go on the Australia Day long weekend, with most annual-leave holidays forecasted to be in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

“Our bookings data reveals that most of us will be foregoing regional drive holidays over the long-weekend and instead booking short trips to our CBDs – namely Sydney – or tourist hot spots, like Surfers Paradise,” added Rivett. 

It would appear that taking an annual leave day on Friday and booking a holiday – if you can afford it – is smart, isn’t it? And according to HotelsCombined, it’s not too late to book a couple of nights away, with plenty of deals on online booking sites!

So, what do you think, should Australia Day be turned into an ‘unofficial’ long-weekend?

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

    Latest comments

    1. ….everyone deserves more holidays in a year…. for the love of all good things, governments/yes, not only australia/ should pass a law making sandwiched working day a holiday… businesses should be more generous to their workers… always remember -cash goes around, cash comes around…

Australia Day Hotels Combined hotelscombined Long weekend

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