Vacations are meant for rest, but it looks like many of us haven’t gotten that memo.
More than two-thirds of Americans work on days that are supposed to relegated as “time off” vacations according to new survey findings from online learning platform ELVTR.
The report took a look at people’s work-life balance and how it impacts their personal lives, and the insight was staggering. 1 in 5 get asked to check their emails while on vacation, and 25% are bombarded by work-related text messages while away, according to the report. What’s more, 28% are interrupted on vacation by email, and 8% receive work-related social media messages or phone calls during their time off.
Unsurprisingly, this inability to disconnect is impacted the respondents’ mental health. 57% said they feel anxious if they don’t check their work emails while away and 46% struggle to switch off during their downtime.
“Sacrificing personal time to maintain job security is a common occurrence during financial crises,” Viktor Grekov, business productivity expert and founder of the OKR Software company Oboard, explaining this can be detrimental for both employees and employers. “This can have devastating consequences. Short term, workers suffer from increased stress and health issues, reduced productivity and, subsequently, fewer growth opportunities. Long term, innovation is stifled with the workforce focused on its own problems, turnover rates skyrocket as workers seek better work-life balance elsewhere, and employers get a reputation for disrupting their employees’ personal time — and these issues will continue to impact businesses long after economic conditions improve. When faced with immediate challenges, businesses cannot lose sight of their long-term goals. Encouraging employees to sacrifice their personal time won’t save your business… You’re simply delaying the productivity loss.”
You can find the full study here.