Despite all the talk about work-life balance and taking time away from work, most Americans are unable to fully disconnect from work, even if they take time off to do so.
A new survey conducted by communications firm Mobchan Agency found that 54% of 2,000 American adults surveyed said they work while on vacation, and roughly half said they feel guilty while on vacation whether they’re working or not.
Nadia Mobchan, founder and CEO of The Mobchan Agency, said these statistics are actually lower than statistics released the previous year, which showed two-thirds of Americans worked over the holidays.
“While ‘workcation’ has become commonplace over the last decade, the number of people working on vacation is actually declining,” Mobchan told Fox Business.
“Does this suggest that employers have realised the error of their ways and colleagues are finally respecting ‘out of office’ responses? Unlikely.”
86% of respondents said they receive calls or messages from colleagues while on vacation, 63% said they feel anxious if they don’t check work-related messages while on vacation, and 59% said they have a hard time disconnecting from work while on vacation.
The survey results showed that 70% of people experience mental health problems due to overwork, 43% suffer from anxiety and one in eight have turned to harmful substances.
Meanwhile, 34% of people who choose to work during the holidays do so because they love their job, and 29% do so because they are afraid of losing their job.
“The popularity of ‘workcations’ may be declining, but compare that to the increasing rates of burnout, stress, fatigue and physical health issues affecting workers,” Mobchan said.
“Rather than having fun and getting a tan, workers on vacation are far more likely to be exhausted or too busy working another part-time job to make ends meet.”
As the survey results were released, business psychologist Roger Hall, who works with entrepreneurs, Fortune 20 companies, lawyers, financial planners, salespeople and other professionals to help many people navigate stressful work environments, pointed to a change in the nature of work over the years.
“The drive home from work used to be the logical dividing line between work stress and home peace. For those 15 to 30 minutes, workers would listen to the radio to relieve work stress,” Hall told FOX Business.
But with the advent of modern technology, that boundary has completely disappeared, he explained, with workers now making a couple of extra work-related calls on their way home.
In fact, instead of going into an office, they may be working from a spare bedroom, so their “commute” is only 15 seconds.
“What would be 20 minutes checking email first thing in the morning turns into three hours creating spreadsheets to fulfill customer orders. There’s no time for your brain to rest,” Hall says.
“The human brain needs periods of rest and quiet to repair itself. And to do that it needs time, quiet, and sleep. In the digital age, all of these are diminished. As a result, we may be thinking more, but we’re not thinking more clearly.”
