Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

AnxietyStressMental health conditionsSickness absence managementWorking life

Half of employees struggle to switch off on holiday

by Nic Paton 8 Jul 2022
by Nic Paton 8 Jul 2022 Nearly half of employees struggle to disconnect fully from work when on holiday, according to Glassdoor. Image: Shutterstock
Nearly half of employees struggle to disconnect fully from work when on holiday, according to Glassdoor. Image: Shutterstock

With the summer holiday season looming, research from recruitment firm Glassdoor has found that nearly half of employees (47%) struggle to disconnect fully from work when on holiday, so leaving them more vulnerable to burnout.

The poll of 2,000 UK workers also found that one in five (21%) admitted to feeling the need to keep on top of what was happening in the office while on holiday. A similar percentage (20%) worried about uncompleted work they had left behind.

A further 18% said they could not switch off knowing they were contactable by work, and 16% revealed that their home and work lives were too intertwined to allow them to relax properly on holiday.

Just as worrying, it was clear this inability to switch off was being compounded by the fact many workers were even struggling to take their full holiday entitlement anyway.

The Glassdoor survey concluded that nearly three-quarters (72%) of those polled believed annual leave was an effective way to minimise burnout.

Despite this, only a third (34%) said their employer encouraged them to take their total annual leave allocation.

In addition, only three in five (60%) workers used all their holiday entitlement in the last year. And nearly a fifth (18%) of under-25s admitted to taking zero annual leave over the previous 12 months.

Employee burnout

Burnout afflicts finance sector despite hybrid working

More than 10 million workers suffering from burnout

Accountants too busy to seek help for stress and burnout

When asked why they didn’t take all their holiday, 13% of employees said their workload was too heavy to take time off.

A further 9% felt pressure from their employer to limit their holiday use, and 8% said they couldn’t financially afford to take time off. Half (50%) also said it was easier to forget to take annual leave when working from home.

Financial worries also stopped 14% of those polled from fully relaxing (increasing to 26% for those living in London), and one in 10 said disconnecting was impossible because of the fear of losing their job.

Time off was increasingly becoming a ‘work-cation’ for many, with more than a quarter (28%) of the employees polled admitting to checking their emails while on holiday and 18% contacting a co-worker during annual leave.

A fifth (22%) were also contacted by their company while on holiday, which could also account for the fact that 14% of the workers surveyed said they also used their annual leave to job hunt, said Glassdoor.

Separate analysis of more than 382,000 anonymous employee reviews had also found that negative discussion around burnout among workers was up 48% in the past 12 months, hitting record levels.

Glassdoor economist Lauren Thomas said of the survey findings: “Burnout levels have skyrocketed in the last 12 months – and companies need to take action.

“After Covid first hit, employers felt pressure to ‘build back better’, but many were caught short by labour shortages and the quick return of consumer demand. Although this tipped the job market in favour of the candidate, workplaces were left extremely understaffed and workers disillusioned.

“Placing employee experience at the heart of company recruitment and retention strategies will slow the upward trend of burnout we’ve seen over the past year and ultimately make workplaces healthier and more productive,” Thomas added.

Nic Paton
Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consulting editor of OHW+. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for OHW+ and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
HSBC executive resigns over sustainability ‘nut job’ comments
next post
PwC partners in line for more than £1m record payout

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Calls for more protections for NHS whistleblowers

22 Aug 2023

Designing working-from-home policies for overseas assignments

4 Aug 2023

Modern slavery in care sector has more than...

25 Jul 2023

Institutional racism remains ‘a stain’ on NHS, warns...

25 Jul 2023

What does a future employer look like? YOU

25 Jul 2023

The Contractor Management Mastery Pack: Everything you need...

17 Jul 2023

Just one in 10 disabled employees report a...

23 Jun 2023

Union needs more understanding of Vodafone Three merger...

15 Jun 2023

First oral treatment for migraine symptoms gets NHS...

2 Jun 2023

BT to slash headcount by up to 55,000

18 May 2023

  • Discover the value of CIPD accreditation PROMOTED | See how the CIPD can increase your earning potential...Read more
  • What does it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (survey) PROMOTED | The world of HR is changing rapidly...Read more
  • The Contractor Management Mastery Pack: Everything you need to manage and pay global contractors PROMOTED | Answers to cross-border...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today