Thanksgiving 'day of rest' on the rise for employees in Canada

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Taking a “day of rest” after the Thanksgiving long weekend is apparently a thing.

According to data from global Human Resources and health and safety software provider BrightHR, companies could see “scores” of Canadian employees taking a sick leave next Tuesday and booking last minute vacation days.

BrightHR’s absence management software, which monitors about 100,000 employees at over 7,000 companies in Canada, shows that over the past three years, sick leave has consistently increased between 77-89% against the daily average the day after Thanksgiving.

A surge in employees requesting last-minute vacation days can also be expected, with bookings for Tuesday, Oct. 15 already exceeding the daily average by 18%.

In 2023, 2022, and 2021, vacation bookings increased by 14%, 27% and 57% against daily averages, respectively, highlighting the trend of employees seeking additional rest days post-holiday celebrations.

“Thanksgiving celebrations often lead to people calling in sick or requesting last-minute vacation days the day after,” said Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR.

“The festivities, combined with travel and family gatherings, can leave employees feeling exhausted and in need of an extra day to recover. As it stands, vacation bookings for next Tuesday stand at 18% higher than this week – and that number is only growing by the second. We can also expect to see a significant spike in sickness absences. Last year, sick leave surged by 89% the day after Thanksgiving, leaving many employers stuck with a skeleton crew and scrambling to amend their schedules in time to meet demand.”

Price says “a culture of open communication where employees feel comfortable discussing their health can also help in managing unexpected absences.”