Dive Brief:
- Office Pulse surveyed U.S. and Canadian workers' vacation habits and preferences and found that Canadians plan to go on vacation for 10 or more days, while the most days U.S. workers plan to take was six to 10 days, according to an email provided to HR Dive. Office Pulse surveyed workers from both countries.
- The survey also found that 68% of Canadians said they won't do any work during vacation, while 23% of U.S. workers said they will work for half an hour while on vacation and 47% will check their emails.
- Despite U.S. workers' failure to unplug while on vacation, both U.S. workers (66%) and Canadians (63%) said they choose a vacation destination for rest and relaxation.
Dive Insight:
The survey reinforces other findings that U.S. workers can't go on vacation without staying connected to the office. In a recent University of Chicago survey of U.S. workers, 30% said they planned to stay plugged into the office while vacationing.
Employers and workers cite burnout as a top concern. Burnout threatens employee engagement and lowers productivity. Employees who stay plugged into the office when they should be enjoying some rest and relaxation can increase their chances of burnout.
Employers can encourage workers to not only take their allotted time off, but also to discourage them from checking work-related emails 24-7 and messaging fellow workers in the office. Perhaps more employers should look to European countries for a model — French workers may ignore after-hours emails by law.
