Just like I don’t understand people who place
When I go away on vacation from work, I do just that. I go away. No answering calls, no checking voicemails and if you get an email from me other than my out-of-office reply, it’s either a dire emergency or my inbox has been hacked.
That is the point of a vacation after all, right? To unplug and unwind from work. To connect to ourselves, families, nature, hobbies. All things that are significantly hindered by an ever-present laptop and/or cellphone.
However, nearly half of workers responding to an Adweek/Harris Poll survey disagree with me, as 46% say they will work or did work during their summer vacation. This number includes 35% who monitor emails and 22% each who check voicemails or occasionally take phone calls. There’s even a pitiful 1% who say they work as if they are not on vacation at all.
There are a few beach bums like me though: More than one-third (35%) who are vacationing this summer will not (or did not) do any work. Sadly, 19% were not or will not be employed at the time of their vacation.
By the numbers, men are more likely than women to work during vacation; employees aged 35-44 are most likely to say they monitor emails; those 45-54 are most likely to check voicemails and younger workers (aged 18-34) are most likely to occasionally take phone calls.
I’m headed to the beach this weekend with my family, and I promise you I will do none of the above. But what about you? Do you stay plugged in to the office while on vacation? If yes, is it time well spent or do you end up feeling like you’ve wasted vacation days? Share your thoughts in the comments.
