Raphael John-Lall
Last weekend, as a result of the Labour Day and Corpus Christi holidays, T&T’s workers enjoyed another four-day holiday weekend for 2025.
There are 14 holidays on T&T’s calendar and it raises the question of how do all these holidays impact productivity and the economy.
President of the Human Resource Management Association of T&T (HRMATT) Cavelle Joseph-St. Omer told the Business Guardian that holidays are not necessarily bad and in fact once managed effectively, they can actually boost productivity and business competitiveness.
“Holidays do not have to cause a productivity slump. In fact, employers can see them as an opportunity to promote healthy work-life balance and improve employee engagement. There is significant research that shows that employee engagement is a key issue when it comes to productivity. For example, did you know that disengaged employees have 69 per cent higher absence rates, are 18 per cent less productive than their engaged counterparts, and their work has 60 per cent more errors? To me, that is the heart of the issue, and it is not public holidays,” she said.
In T&T, there are seven long weekends in 2025. These include: Carnival Weekend (March 3-4), Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day (March 31, observed), the Easter Weekend (April 18-21), Indian Arrival Day (May 30-June 1), Corpus Christi/Labour Day (June 19-22), Emancipation Day (August 1-3), and Christmas Day/Boxing Day (December 25-28).
As a comparison, there are 10 public holidays in Jamaica, there are eight public holidays at the national level in Brazil and in the United States, the world’s largest economy, there are 11 federal holidays.
The debate over how many holidays a country should have, is also taking place internationally.
In May, US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to complain that the United States never took any credit for winning World War I and World War II. Trump said he is remedying the situation by declaring two new holidays: one on November 11, to mark the US victory in WWI, and one on May 8, to mark the US victory in WWII.
However, he said that those would be working holidays as the US already has too many holidays and stirred up debates with some arguing that the US has less holidays than many other countries while other Americans supported him.
On Thursday night on the United States’ Juneteenth holiday, on Truth Social, Trump said, “Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing billions of dollars to keep all of these businesses closed.”
Joseph-St. Omer said while interest groups may worry that more time off leads to a lower productivity rate, encouraging a positive culture around absence and leave can actually boost productivity in the long run.
“When employees are given sufficient time off to switch off and relax, they come back to work feeling refreshed and better equipped to tackle their workload. Ingraining regular time off into the culture of your organisation will ensure that employees are used to regularly completing their work in a shorter time frame in the run-up to a break, so the knock-on effect around public holidays will be minimised.”
She also said there are multiple strategies for mitigating negative impacts that employers can use:
1. Employers can promote a culture that encourages employees to take their allotted time off and disconnect from work while on holiday.
2. Planning and communication can help manage workload distribution and minimize the impact of absenteeism.
3. Companies can align year-end goals with holiday incentives to motivate employees to complete tasks before the break.
4. Encourage employees to disconnect from work during their time off to improve well-being and reduce burnout.
She noted that the cultural significance of holidays in T&T, together with utilising some of the tools to mitigate against the negative impact on productivity levels is worth bearing in mind when discussing this issue.
“Many of our public holidays celebrate diverse cultural and religious traditions, contributing to national unity and identity. We cannot lose that as a nation. Public holidays also provide much-needed rest and relaxation for citizens, which can improve overall well-being.”
She added that there have been ongoing discussions and debates about the number of public holidays in T&T, but she believes that the benefits of these holidays once managed effectively by employers far outweigh any concerns around productivity.
Four-day work week
Joseph - St. Omer also referred to the four-day work week trials taking place globally and factored this into the discussion about time off and productivity.
“There are many four-day work week trials happening across the globe, including right now in the UK, which are showing positive results, with most employers taking part reporting a boost in productivity, having swapped from a five-day week. So surely, the same would be true for weeks with a holiday?”
She said while it may not be necessarily true, for those organisations still operating on a five-day week (as in the case of T&T) a four-day or as in this recent three-day week due to a holiday usually means attempting to squeeze five days’ worth of work into a shorter time frame. This can leave employees in some industries feeling overworked and overwhelmed, and productivity can take a hit as employees struggle to feel motivated in the face of a growing workload.
“Productivity can also be disrupted by the fact that a number of people use additional annual leave to coincide with holidays. This could either mean that employees are less productive than usual as they look forward to some time off, or it could mean that their usual routine is made more difficult as they struggle to coordinate with colleagues or clients / customers due to time off.”
Different persectives
Joseph - St. Omer said whether T&T has “too many” public holidays or not is subjective and depends on perspective.
“A number of interest groups have argued for fewer holidays. Opinions raised are; firstly, the economic impact, with business groups and economists contending that too many public holidays disrupt productivity and competitiveness. It is true that holidays, particularly those that fall during the week, can lead to a loss of work hours and economic output. T&T’s 14 public holidays are more than some of its Caribbean neighbours and other countries globally. However, there are several other territories with significantly more holidays than us; namely Nepal, Myanmar observes 32 public holidays, Iran (26), Sri Lanka (25), and Bangladesh (22) to name a few. And the data / research that holidays negatively impact productivity is inconclusive.”
She also spoke about the potential negative aspects of time off.
“We know for example, the anticipation and actual time off can lead to decreased focus and increased absenteeism. While for others, like me, they also serve as a motivator for increased output before and after the break, and they promote employee well-being and engagement. For those of us in HR, we see the data, and it suggests a higher rate of absenteeism, with employees more likely to take unplanned leave or call in sick during holiday periods (the day before or the day after a long weekend). The reduced staffing due to absenteeism can lead to a backlog of work, potentially impacting project completion and causing delays.”
Conversely, she said there are a significant number of employees who are motivated to complete tasks before taking time off, resulting in a short-term productivity boost.
“This short-term increase in productivity as employees strive to complete tasks before taking time off contributes positively to overall productivity.
“Furthermore, time off allows employees to recharge, reducing stress and burnout, which can lead to increased focus and productivity. Studies have shown that taking time off can improve sleep, reduce the risk of heart disease, and improve overall health, which can translate into better work performance. This has positive long-term implications and reduces medical claims and insurance costs in the end. In fact, employers can use holidays as an opportunity to promote a positive work-life balance and improve employee engagement, which can ultimately boost productivity.”