New data suggests ‘time-off tax’ may shape first week back to work

New data suggest that employees who took time off in 2025 also spent nearly 17 hours preparing for or catching up after their vacations. Maria Sarrouh explains.

Office doors are swinging open again across the country, and for some workers, the first week back after the holidays is less of a slow return and more of a scramble.

New data from ADP Canada’s Happiness@Work Index offers a snapshot of worker sentiment in the last stretch of 2025. Thirty-two per cent said they took all their allotted vacation time in 2025. Those who took a week off reported spending an average of nearly 17 additional hours preparing or catching up, which workplace experts refer to as a “time-off tax”.

“If you’re stressed and concerned about being able to take time off, you’re less likely to actually disconnect when you do take the time off,” said Heather Haslam, vice-president of marketing at ADP Canada. “You don’t get the same kind of refresh, and you don’t come back re-energized.”

The index also suggests worker happiness edged down in December. The national score was 6.8 out of 10, down 0.2 points from November. Atlantic Canada came in slightly higher at 6.9, though the region saw a sharper drop, from 7.5.

Haslam said the index combines overall satisfaction with several secondary drivers, including work-life balance and flexibility, compensation and benefits, recognition and support, as well as career advancement.

“Unfortunately, workers in Atlantic Canada – despite the fact that they’re very high up on the work-life balance and flexibility – they actually carry one of the heaviest burdens of time-off tax,” Haslam said.

Despite the drop, the region still ranked near the top of the board, tied with Quebec. British Columbia led the country at 7.0, while Saskatchewan and Manitoba posted the lowest scores at 6.6.

The report also breaks down results by generation. Baby boomers remained the happiest group at 7.4, while millennials were the lowest at 6.7.

Workplace culture expert Jennifer Moss said the post-holiday return can be a pressure point for employees, especially if workplaces expect people to snap back to full speed immediately.

“It feels like a sprint when we return to work,” she said. “Look at it as a short timeline of getting ramped back up. You’ll be in full gear, as long as you give yourself that time in the first week back.”

Moss also points to Microsoft research showing the average Teams user has seen a 252 per cent increase in weekly time spent in meetings since February 2020.

“Since we have this massive meeting fatigue already, what we want to do is limit that, make sure that we set boundaries and block off time for creative rest, regrouping, maybe setting time to talk to coworkers about non-work-related topics,” she said.

Haslam said employers can also ease that strain by building better coverage and planning around vacation time.

“Making sure that there’s backup, making sure that there’s adequate documentation for policies, doing some cross-training,” she said.

Moss also encourages teams to try to avoid “toxic productivity” after time off, and creating “false urgencies.”

“Our personalities have this guilt … rest is a four-letter word,” Moss said. “But we don’t realize that being productive and engaged and doing better at our job requires it.”