A survey has revealed an alarming portion of Japanese employees enjoy vacations.

The survey by online travel agency Expedia Inc. said that 47 per cent of workers pay attention to their annual paid leave entitlement.

“The Japanese worker is slowly beginning to place a higher value on spending more time with their family and friends, and feeling less guilty about doing so,” said an Expedia staffer.

“This is a very worrying sign for companies that are able to use this guilt to maximise employer work loads and restrict paid holidays.”

The disturbing trend may force Japanese companies into hiring a reasonable number of staff.