The Work Clinic

According to a survey  by CREDANT Technologies, City workers will be unable to 'let go' while relaxing in the sun this summer, with 83% admitting they'll be taking their mobile phone or BlackBerry away with them, and 65% confessing that they will make contact with the office, either by phone, text or e-mail while on holiday.
 
Over a quarter of workers revealed that they will check their e-mails once a day while on holiday, with 14% admitting they can't resist e-mailing more than once a day, and 18% will view their e-mails two or three times instead of taking the opportunity to relax and forget about the daily grind. In fact just 40% of workers are comfortable enough to resist the temptation to e-mail the office from the beach or poolside.
 
As if negotiating the family suitcases through hectic UK airports in the height of the summer holiday getaway isn't challenging enough, more than one in three people will drag their laptops with them too. According to the survey, these diligent workers remain oblivious to the data security risks their roaming laptops posed - one in five of them don't even bother securing the device with a password, and 68% don't encrypt information.
 
Michael Callahan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, CREDANT Technologies says: "Whether it's paranoia on the part of employees, or unrealistic demands from employers, the fact is that this summer numerous workers will be accessing the corporate network from all over the globe. If any of these devices are lost or stolen, and are unsecured, the cost of the holiday will pale in comparison to the cost of losing the data. Employers must face up to the fact that their employees' diligence, or paranoia for that matter, could be putting the company at risk and it's their responsibility to ensure the necessary steps are taken to protect the company's data, wherever it travels."

Data security, aside, shouldn't companies be reassuring staff that they shouldn't be working while on holiday? We're constantly complaining about staff being exhausted and burnt out. Why then, are we allowing them to monitor their work while on holiday? Surely the cost of bringing in someone to cover for them is far smaller than the cost of replacing them when they leave, bowed by the workload - or the cost of long-term sickness, brought on by stress.