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All work and no play makes for a dull holiday. Let’s face it - no one likes having to work while on holiday. But are we Brits able to push our workload and responsibilities aside during our trip, or does it still have a hold over us while we’re soaking up the sun?
We surveyed over 2,000 UK and Northern Irish holidaymakers and asked them a total of 21 questions relating to how work affects them while away. The results may come as a bit of a surprise, it turns out we may actually be more prone to reach for our laptop than our sunscreen...
Want to find out more? We asked some of our favourite bloggers their opinion on working while on holiday, and uncovered a mixture of answers.
With the rise of smartphones, checking our emails has become easier than ever, which means checking them while on holiday has become simpler too. From the little notification to the huge pile up in your inbox, it’s almost impossible to avoid. This explains why four in 10 people who were surveyed said they check their emails while away, with the majority checking their emails over breakfast.
It’s all very well checking your emails first thing in the morning before you go off to enjoy your day, but up to half of those we surveyed admitted to having a little look up to 5 times a day too. As for the other half, nearly 25% check their emails 6-10 times a day, and 13% check theirs 11-15 times.
As for the 2% of those that said they looked at their emails over a staggering 21 times a day, we suggest that you may need to take action. Our all inclusive holidaysmean you have plenty of time to plan in activities so that you can enjoy and distract yourself on holiday – wiht everything available at your fingertips, expect for that smartphone!
Another potential explanation for why we continue to work while on holiday is that there just isn’t anyone to hand your work over to. So while a whopping 75% said that their boss doesn’t expect them to work while away, for some there seems to be no choice, with 27% of people claiming they didn't have anyone in the workplace who could take over their workload. This can have a massive impact, and ultimately has an effect on people’s ability to kick back and relax.
With three in 10 saying that they find it difficult to switch off from everyday life duties and activities while on holiday, it’s clear that relaxing is not as easy as it seems. A further one in 10 even admitted that it could take three days before they feel that they are fully able to switch off from work and enjoy themselves.
Maybe these people just need a more relaxing holiday to let go of everyday life. Long haul destinations offer plenty of time to switch off - where better to forget your troubles than a trip to Mexico or Dubai?
While we may be prone to work while on holiday, this doesn’t mean we’re making up for lost time because we become distracted before the trip. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Four in 10 had said that they work an extra 1-2 hours before a holiday to ensure that everything is wrapped up in time, with two in 10 going even further by committing an extra 3-4 hours, and one in 10 even said they worked an incredible 5-6 hours to ensure that all work was complete before going away. This points to the idea that we don’t work while on holiday because we left it too late, we work because we’re dedicated to our jobs. Isn’t that nice?
To help eliminate the late nights and extra hours, why not book a short last minute holiday instead? You may have a little less time to prepare before your departure, granted, but it means more time spent being spontaneous and living in the moment during your getaway. And if you go for a long-weekend, you won’t have much work to catch up on when you return either.
No matter how hard we try, sometimes we just can’t switch off, even when we may be 1000s of miles away sunbathing on the beach. With that said, balancing work and play is important. After all, we want you to enjoy our holidays as much as possible.
With that said, there’s still time to book that all-important summer holiday – and with our exclusive deals in our spectacular summer sale, you’re sure to find somewhere worth putting your laptop down for!
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