Nearly half of British workers return from their summer holiday to a mountain of work, according to research by recruitment company Manpower.
Nearly half of the 1,800 people surveyed said that work was simply left to pile up while they were away. Even more worrying is the 7% who admitted they were regularly contacted while on holiday.
Just 10% of those surveyed said their employer hired temporary workers to cover holiday leave, with a significant proportion (40%) stating that colleagues were expected to take on additional work to cover for staff holidays.
Greg Teare, operations director, Manpower UK, said: “Summer holidays should be about completely relaxing and forgetting the daily routine. This won’t happen if people spend their holiday worrying about what work is piling up, how many e-mails they have or the additional burden their holiday is causing colleagues.
Manpower suggests the following tips for people preparing to go on holiday:
Clear your desk and do your filing before you go – the last thing you need is to return to mountains of paperwork
Let colleagues, clients and other contacts know that you will be away. If you have them, alter your voicemail and out-of-office messages to let people know what date you return
Nominate a colleague to deal with urgent telephone or e-mail queries – and ensure you return the favour when they go away
Complete outstanding projects before you go
Ensure a colleague covers any ongoing tasks – prepare a handover document for colleagues so you can enjoy your holiday reassured that they are properly briefed
Don’t schedule any meetings for the day you return.
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