Meanwhile, only 28 percent of those surveyed reported that they had had arguments with friends and family about their working on holiday, down from 37 percent two years ago. Considering the increase in those working through their holidays, this seems to indicate that it is fast becoming the norm to be constantly switched on. Charles Elvin, Chief Executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management, said: “Britain’s workforce is not making the most of their annual leave. Our survey paints a picture of an over-stressed workforce, who feel they cannot afford to switch off out of fear of falling behind on workloads. “It is crucial that people are able to make the most of their time off work to fully relax, reflect and recharge. This allows them fresh perspective and energy to tackle their work on return from holiday.”The poll also revealed that far from being relaxing, the prospect of an upcoming holiday caused 73 percent of workers to feel more stressed out – up from 71 percent in 2013 – with 68 percent staying late in the office the day before.
Even worse, almost 1 in 5 (18 percent) come back from their holiday more stressed than when they left. Part of the reason for this, it seems, might be that 81 percent of staff are faced with overflowing email inboxes on their return. Meanwhile, more than half of workers (54 percent) still have holiday entitlement when they get to the end of the year, with 42 percent of managers actually having to encourage their staff to take a break. Charles Elvin: “Finding work-life balance is easier said than done. But organisations can foster positive work environments by encouraging staff to use their full holiday allowance, hand over responsibilities to co-workers in the lead up to leave and have face to face meetings on their return.”
Tips for cutting down holiday stress levels
Plan for your absence – put together handover notes and give clear guidelines to reports on tasks they need to complete. Make sure that you inform key contacts you will be away – this will cut down on the number of messages sent in your absence. Try to plan your holiday timing wisely, so that you're not away during critical stages of a project. If you are planning to check work emails, establish ground rules and only do so once or twice a day and switch off your work devices in between. Set up a detailed out-of-office reply for both your email and phone line. Including dates you'll be away and a person that can be contacted in your absence. Do not open your email account straight away upon your return – catch-up meetings with team members might be a better alternative
