As the hordes escape on summer holiday to sunnier climes, those left behind were given some comfort last week. According to new research from telecoms services provider Sterry Communications, almost three quarters of staff will spend much of their break worrying about work, and 40 percent claim their holiday will actually be spoilt by these concerns.
The issues that will be playing on vacationers’ minds range from not trusting colleagues to complete work to concern that the boss will uncover evidence of tasks that should have been finished but are not. As a result of their fretting, more than four-fifths of holiday-makers will undertake some form of work-related activity, and more than a third admit to checking work email accounts while away.
Sterry’s take on this situation is one of sympathy for the put-upon employees, unable to relax for five minutes when away from the office and having to do work while on holiday. But some – notably those worried about being caught out over uncompleted work – seem to bring it upon themselves. As a means of reducing anxieties, many people suggested longer holidays might help. And almost a fifth said the ability to check office emails would help them relax on holiday.
This last point seems odd to me. Many people admit they worry about work while on holiday, so surely providing email access will make it harder for them to unwind. And those who worry the most about what’s going on – or wrong – back in the office, are the ones most likely to suffer from knowing that their work email is only a few clicks away on their mobile phone/PDA/laptop, and will feel guilty if they don’t check in every few hours.
As a way around this, Sterry advises firms to develop policies that offer staff appropriate levels of access if they wish to check in with the office while away, while also reflecting the need for work/life balance.
But the spread of new gadgets means the much-desired work/life balance is getting harder to achieve. Recent figures from research firm Analysys indicate that there are now more mobile phones in the UK than people. In light of such developments, many IT vendors are sensibly moving away from targeting enterprise and consumer markets as separate groups. Consumers purchase devices such as PDAs, which they then use in part for work purposes, and employees increasingly take advantage of work-owned IT equipment, such as laptops, for personal use away from the office.
Similarly, technologies made popular by consumers have been adopted by corporates. A prime example is web blogs, now a key tool for firms keen to share their ideas both internally and externally.
The vision of the digital home of the future, where one box will serve as PC/entertainment system/communication manager among other functions, will make it even harder to completely escape work. And growth in home working is also having its effects. Many people no longer end their work at a set time each day, having swapped this privilege for the convenience of an office installed at home.
Rather than seeking the perfect work/life balance, employees and employers should accept the need for even more flexible ways of working, because advances in technology mean the lines between work and play are only going to get more blurred.
