Survey: 61 percent of Americans expect to work during their vacation

[Shawn Knight]

Vacations are meant to be an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life – a time to relax, soak up some sun, have fun with family and friends or perhaps tackle an activity you’ve always wanted to try. Unfortunately for the majority of Americans, that’s simply not the case as a staggering 61 percent of people expect to perform some sort of work during their vacation.

The figure is up from 52 percent last year according to TeamViewer, a company that ironically sells a product used for remote support and online meetings. Of those that expect to work during their off time, 34 percent said they would do the work but wouldn’t be happy about it while 29 percent noted that thinking about work during a vacation leads them to believe their boss doesn’t respect their time.

All of this is a direct result of the always on, always connected world we live in. Not all that long ago, a world existed where the only way to get in touch with someone was through a landline telephone. Going on vacation, as in leaving your house to stay elsewhere, meant you simply weren’t able to be contacted (and bothered) during your away time.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still solutions to escape today’s connected world. Simply leave your gadgets behind or at the very least, turn off your phone while on vacation. The latter isn’t a popular idea, however, as only 13 percent of respondents said they planned to do so during their next vacation.

Have you ever had to work during a vacation or do you plan to do so this year?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/53249-survey-61-percent-of-americans-expect-to-work-during-their-vacation.html

 

[cliffordcooley]

Unless you can afford to be catered to every second of the day, of course you will work. The point is you are no longer brown nosing some bastard to keep your job, who couldn't care less about you or your family. If you can't find a balance between the hustle and relaxation in your everyday life, then a vacation is likely not the answer. Sure it might be nice once in a while, but I'd give it three weeks and you will feel the same as you did before the vacation.

 

[Jad Chaar]

I dont blame them for wanting to make money.

 

[hitech0101]

Calls from work never stop can't switch off your phone if you worried about keeping the job.

 

[Guest]

Yes, I have to work while on vacation, though it usually just amounts to answering a handful of emails, which takes 5-10 minutes out of a day. Of course if I go camping in the wilderness then no electronic communications work

 

[DDG4005]

I guess I'm fortunate to have a job where I am not expected to be available while on vacation. We've come to a sad state of affairs if you can't even go vacation and actually have time off.

 

[gamoniac]

Yes, absolutely will, and already work extra hours at night. In the technology area of my company, it has becomes so unduly process-intensive (read: red-tape). I spend more time handling mandated processes, testing, certification, reviewing, etc., than I do really work. In addition, while companies save money (they believe) by shipping work offshore (still), US workers are tasked with managing offshore guys, clients, and their managers. Overburden and low-to-none raise for years... they call it high productivity.

Man, do I sound like an ungrateful guy who still has a job... Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to get back to work. It's after 5pm, but I have to make up those hours lost to red-tape.

 

[windmill007]

That's stupid. I think you need to find anew job if you can't be left alone on vacation.

 

[St1ckM4n]

Heh, these stats just show how poor management is. No properly run company should have a single point of failure.

 

[z0phi3l]

Calls from work never stop can't switch off your phone if you worried about keeping the job.

If that's your reality you must have a totally **** job, my employer better have a damn good reason to call me in my off hours, let alone while on vacation

 

[dunebeetle]

This is squarely the fault of the employees themselves caring too much about money and tolerating such garbage.

 

[St1ckM4n]

This is squarely the fault of the employees themselves caring too much about money and tolerating such garbage.

There is no money gained by the employee when working on holiday....

 

[Guest]

Anyone who doesn't have to do some work on vacation must not be a professional or have much responsibility. On any given day, I can have over 25 critical e-mails relating to legacy products to deal with. If I don't deal with these and the other e-mails I get, I'll be buried under hundreds of e-mails after a week vacation.

Everyone working in the high technology field will tell you that you can expect to have to deal with critical issues during your off time, especially if you are a senior engineer. Our company has design centers worldwide and I am frequently dealing with technical questions from Asia after midnight or Europe before I leave for work in the morning.

If we can't solve a customer issue promptly, there are several competitors waiting to replace us and the customers know this all to well. If you can't provide excellent customer support, you won't be in business very long.

All this is in addition to doing my real job, which is evaluating new products for design flaws before going into production.

I love my job and just see this as part of being a professional.

 

[PinothyJ]

Ahh, 'Merica!

Only country in the world with no laws covering its workers...

 

[windmill007]

Guest above. If your company can't let you go on vacation professional or not its not a very well run company. What happens if you quit. Does the company fail. I think not. Everyone needs a vacation. If your job is your life, Well then I don't know what to tell you other than you need to get out and smell the roses some time.

 

[DDG4005]

Anyone who doesn't have to do some work on vacation must not be a professional or have much responsibility. On any given day, I can have over 25 critical e-mails relating to legacy products to deal with. If I don't deal with these and the other e-mails I get, I'll be buried under hundreds of e-mails after a week vacation.

Everyone working in the high technology field will tell you that you can expect to have to deal with critical issues during your off time, especially if you are a senior engineer. Our company has design centers worldwide and I am frequently dealing with technical questions from Asia after midnight or Europe before I leave for work in the morning.

If we can't solve a customer issue promptly, there are several competitors waiting to replace us and the customers know this all to well. If you can't provide excellent customer support, you won't be in business very long.

All this is in addition to doing my real job, which is evaluating new products for design flaws before going into production.

I love my job and just see this as part of being a professional.

Sorry but that is total bullsh!t. The problem is that there are too many people who think working night and day make them indispensable to there jobs or burnishes their profiles. Working that hard makes you a slave and a voluntary one at that. Turn off the technology and tune into life before the stress from the former takes the latter.

 

[slh28]

A well run company will always have adequate cover for when people are away. However I have come across people who are reluctant to hand over their work or train other colleagues in order to make themselves seem indispensable which is a little sad really.

 

[Guest]

Let me just say that the company I work for is very well run and is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world. There are definitely people who can cover for me when I am away and I expect them to do so. However, occassionally, there are times when I need deal with a technical issue directly because it is simply more efficient.

I don't feel like taking two or three hours in total in anyway compromises my vacation. I feel like I won't have bigger problems when I get back to the office if I can deal with issues before they get larger. Then I feel like I can relax in that knowledge.

My job is NOT my life and there are perks to being a professional. If I need to take a day off to run errands, it doesn't come out of my vacation bank. As long as I get my work done and can collaborate with my peers, I can pretty much set my own work hours, can occassionally work at home, and have 24 hour access to my lab. I am very well compensated and if that means that sometimes I need to deal with issues while on vacation, so be it. I have WAY too much fun at my job anyway. I wouldn't have survived 37 years as an engineer if I didn't enjoy my job.

 

[Mikymjr]

Stay calm and turn every electronic device that connects you to the isp or internet for notifications, email or chat messaging system, OFF! =p

 

[Jim$ter]

Let me just say that the company I work for is very well run and is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world. There are definitely people who can cover for me when I am away and I expect them to do so. However, occassionally, there are times when I need deal with a technical issue directly because it is simply more efficient.

I don't feel like taking two or three hours in total in anyway compromises my vacation. I feel like I won't have bigger problems when I get back to the office if I can deal with issues before they get larger. Then I feel like I can relax in that knowledge.

My job is NOT my life and there are perks to being a professional. If I need to take a day off to run errands, it doesn't come out of my vacation bank. As long as I get my work done and can collaborate with my peers, I can pretty much set my own work hours, can occassionally work at home, and have 24 hour access to my lab. I am very well compensated and if that means that sometimes I need to deal with issues while on vacation, so be it. I have WAY too much fun at my job anyway. I wouldn't have survived 37 years as an engineer if I didn't enjoy my job.

Hiring??

 

[Mikymjr]

Hiring??

I'd sure like to be hired also =p

 

[Emexrulsier]

I often have to work when I'm on vacation but recently my company agreed to pay me an additional "holiday pay" which I get every time I go on holiday (still get usual holiday pay). This payment simply covers me being available on the end of the phone and not to do any actual work. I get about 100$ a day which aint bad just to be on a phone, if I do end up working I get additional fees so I'm not to bothered about working on holiday.

Everyone needs to get in the frame of mine that you need the job the job doesn't need you.

 

[St1ckM4n]

Everyone needs to get in the frame of mine that you need the job the job doesn't need you.

Not all countries are as screwed as USA.

 

[DDG4005]

I often have to work when I'm on vacation but recently my company agreed to pay me an additional "holiday pay" which I get every time I go on holiday (still get usual holiday pay). This payment simply covers me being available on the end of the phone and not to do any actual work. I get about 100$ a day which aint bad just to be on a phone, if I do end up working I get additional fees so I'm not to bothered about working on holiday.

Everyone needs to get in the frame of mine that you need the job the job doesn't need you.

Again, more bs. Some people have simply been conditioned to live in fear of everything including losing their jobs if they go on vacation. If it's like that then you are a slave and you deserve whatever mistreatment you receive.

 

[Guest]

Ddg4005,

Does you work company have a global presence with demanding customers? I do and our customers do not want to wait 16 to 48 hours for a reply to an urgent e-mail. Sometimes the folks who cover for me when I am away can't deal with a particular issue since they are not directly involved. In those rare cases, I have to deal with the issue myself.

Since I am a salaried engineer, I get don't get paid by the hour so I'm not on the clock so to speak. I get paid the same for one hour of work a week or forty. The flexibility in my job I am afforded far outweighs the occassional need to work for an hour or two while on vacation. I've taken vacations off the grid and haven't had any issues either.

The problem that I see is that some people think they should be able to drop their responsibilities completely just because they view their vacation as "private" time. This is true for low to mid level employees, but the more responsibilities you have, the more your actions can affect the company bottom line.