More importantly, why should employers care about this data?
Employees in Singapore took a median of 19 vacation days in the past year, according to a new report, which urged employers to take advantage of time-off data to foster healthier workplaces.
Deel's latest report revealed Singapore's workforce as the biggest vacation-takers in the Asia-Pacific region, taking a median of 19 vacation days despite only having an average entitlement of 18 days.
This is likely because vacation leave days from previous years rolled over to 2025 instead of being wasted, according to the report.
The median number of vacation days taken by Singaporeans was much higher than those in Hong Kong (16.5 days), Australia (16 days), Indonesia and Malaysia (15.5 days each), and South Korea (15 days).
Singaporeans under flexible vacation policies also took a higher rate of vacation days than those under fixed policies, with a median of 20.75 days off, the findings revealed.
This is also a pattern observed for workers in Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, who are under similar flexible vacation policies.
Holiday-style breaks
Meanwhile, Singapore's workforce is also more likely to take longer stretches of vacation days, with four days or more, instead of taking quick two-day breaks or extending long weekends as in other parts of APAC, according to the report.
"In Singapore, we see that when people have both access and permission, they actually use their leave - and they use it in ways that help them properly switch off. Longer, planned breaks are becoming a feature of how people work, not an exception," said Deel economist Lauren Thomas.
Deel argues that these holiday-style breaks that Singaporeans take offer a stronger buffer against burnout, citing research that shows longer and uninterrupted breaks are linked to better mental wellbeing.
Thomas said HR leaders should pay attention to insights relating to how employees use their time off, especially as the competition for talent intensifies.
"It is central to building resilient, sustainable teams," she said.
"For HR and business leaders, the next step is turning those leave patterns into better decisions about staffing, wellbeing programmes and the overall employee experience."
The economist underscored that paid time off can't just sit in the handbook.
"It has to be part of how you design work, plan capacity, and think about wellbeing," she said. "The companies that treat time off as a strategic lever, and not just an admin line item, are the ones that will be better placed to keep people healthy and businesses running smoothly."
