The line between
work and holiday for Brits dramatically blurs
Half of us now
check work emails on holiday
With the recession still biting, we’re all
having to work that much harder and it seems it doesn’t stop at the office. A
TripAdvisor survey of over 3,500* travellers can today reveal that Britons are struggling
to escape work even on holiday, with 40% admitting to checking their emails
whilst away. Over half (51%) of respondents revealed they check their emails
daily or more – a dramatic increase from the 13% who logged on daily in 2011
and 10% in 2010.
Increasing expectations, increasing
tensions
And it doesn’t stop at emails – over
two-thirds (38%) of British workers claim to take and make work calls on
holiday, which appears to be having a negative impact on our so-called break
away with almost a third (30%) admitting working on holiday makes their trip
less enjoyable. However, Britons are still not as work-addicted as Italian
respondents – 59% admit to checking work emails on holiday.
Perhaps an indication of increasing
expectations at work, 12% of Brits, 19% of Germans and over 20% of French and
Italian workers say that employers expect them to be contactable and able to
work on holiday if necessary, which appears to be taking its toll on
relationships with 15% of Brits claiming to have argued with a partner about
having to put the hours in while away, only second to Germany at 19%.
Vacation Deprivation
The TripAdvisor survey also reveals that
almost a third (30%) of us don’t even manage to take our full holiday
allowance. Although many Brits aren’t taking their holiday entitlement, it
seems that our colleagues in France, Italy and Germany are even worse at not
taking their annual leave, with Italy the worst culprits with almost two-thirds
(62%) failing to do so.
“Perhaps it’s a sign of tough economic
times and job insecurity, but many Britons are not only taking their work with
them on holiday, some are even sacrificing their holiday allowance by not
taking their full entitlement,” commented Emma Shaw, TripAdvisor
spokesperson. “While smartphones and technology have made it easier than
ever to stay connected to the office, it’s still important to set some
boundaries so that you return to work feeling refreshed and productive.”
