Year after year, studies show that Canadians still struggle to disconnect from work during the holidays. And it’s going from bad to worse, according to a new survey conducted by the Accountemps recruitment firm.
Gone are the days when the computer was shut down after having summarily programmed an out-of-office autoreply message. Today, with a smartphone in the pocket, all our files are dragged along with us. As a result, it is becoming more and more difficult to be unplugged from professional requirements for a few days of well-deserved vacation.
After all, it only takes a few seconds to answer this pending email.
The catch is that it also takes only a few seconds to lose the peace of mind so much sought after…
Worse and worse, from generation to generation
According to an Accountemps survey, more than one-third of workers (34%) exchange emails or phone calls with their colleagues during their holidays. Behind this average hides an even more alarming fact: while workers aged 55 years and older easily disconnect from work during their vacations, less than half of millennials succeed in doing so.
In addition to not having real holidays, today’s employees choose to take less. While in 2017 workers planned to stop for 11 days off during the summer season, in 2018 they plan to be satisfied with 9 days of leave.
From internal pressure to external pressure
Hyperconnected, young workers have difficulty cutting themselves off from their job duties. More likely to feel the pressure for performance, they also fear the repercussions on their career of “disappearing” for a few days. If we add to the equation the notorious FOMO (fear of missing out), it’s easier to understand that they find it hard to turn their backs on their work when on leave.
According to David King, Canadian president of Accountemps, today’s professionals prefer to follow up occasionally with their colleagues to reassure themselves that everything is going well during their absence, which then lets them focus better on relaxing! After “helicopter parents”, “helicopter employees”?
The benefits of vacations on productivity, motivation and concentration have been proven many times. So what if we made sure that we were not indispensable for a few days by taking the time to delegate adequately?