Research
shows that although UK managers are increasingly entitled to longer holidays,
they are spending their time catching up on the everyday chores they simply do
not have time to deal with in their busy working lives.
A
study by the Chartered Management Institute reveals that the number of managers
with more than 30 days holiday rose by 5 percentage points this year to 26 per
cent, with 47 per cent of respondents stating they would take their full
entitlement.
Larger
organisations with more than 1,000 employees are much more likely to offer
longer holidays to staff, and junior and middle managers are the most likely to
take all their entitlement.
However,
an analysis of how managers spend their holiday time reveals that more than
half of them will catch up on DIY chores, 44 per cent will work on their gardens
and 36 per cent will tackle domestic paperwork. Others specify they need the
time to look after children or other dependants.
Almost
three-quarters of respondents admit to thinking about work while on holiday,
more than half will use their mobile phone or e-mail for work purposes while on
leave and only 30 per cent draw the line at leaving a contact number with their
organisation before going away.
Christine
Hayhurst, director of public affairs at the Chartered Management Institute,
said: "Managing the home and work balance is still problematic for many UK
managers. Despite longer holiday entitlements, the amount of time they can
allocate to recharging their batteries is eaten into by the everyday chores
that they simply do not have time to complete during their normal busy working
week."
