Office-based Brits feel when it comes to taking time out of the office in search for sunnier climes, based on research of 1000 UK-based office workers.  

A whopping 52 percent of us admit to checking emails whilst on holiday, of which 26 percent claim to respond to emails too.  However, it’s the younger employees that are the most conscientious, with 38 percent of them claiming to read and respond to emails when they are away, compared to 29 percent of people aged 45-54. That said, 45 percent of office workers aged 35 to 44, said they let their ‘out of office’ message do what it’s intended for, and never check their emails.

The research reveals that women seem to be more relaxed than men when they fly off, with 54 percent never looking at work emails, compared to 42 percent of men. Too many couples admitted to getting hot under the collar about reading work emails on holiday, with 36 percent saying they had fallen out. Seven in ten females confessed to having a problem with their other halves checking their emails on holiday (70 percent) compared to 58 percent of men who see it as an issue. The study prompted Travel Republic to launch a fun ‘Out of Office art’ campaign, giving people plain text images to add to their out of office messages to remind them to be happy about being away, rather than feeling guilty.

Elliott Prichard, Chief Marketing Officer of Travel Republic comments on the holiday excitement this year: “We initially wanted to understand the emotions people experience when preparing to leave the office for annual leave, and the biggest emotion is ‘relief’ (46 percent). As workplaces become busier, annual leave becomes more of a luxury, but the reality is that many office workers cannot completely turn off. Millions of people book their holidays with Travel Republic approximately seven months before the departure date, on average.  The time leading up to a holiday should be part of the fun, it shouldn’t be a stressful time. To spark discussion about the importance of enjoying annual leave, we’ve created some plain text art for people to add to their out of office messages, to remind people that time off is positive for everyone.”

To download a plain text Out of Office illustration, visit the dedicated Travel Republic page: https://www.travelrepublic.co.uk/getoutofoffice/