Holidaying Brits cannot leave work behind

Holidays are supposed to represent an opportunity to get away from the pressures of day-to-day life, but new research shows that millions are unable to leave their work behind.

The report from AlphaRooms suggests that 20 million Brits think it is necessary to take their work away with them.

Two-thirds of those questioned also admitted that they had experienced a work interruption while relaxing on holiday. Another 80 per cent said they had worried about work while enjoying a well-deserved break, which perhaps defeats the object of going away in the first place.

Technology appears to have a great deal to do with this trend, with a third of people taking their laptop or BlackBerry on holiday with them.

Some three-quarters of those surveyed revealed that they had made or taken a work phone call while ostensibly 'getting away from it all' and 60 per cent have sent a work-related email.

Gareth Hockey, AlphaRooms online marketing manager, said: "Unfortunately the downside of the communication age in which we live is that we are rarely ever truly out of contact.

"Holidays should be a time of total rest and relaxation, when work and the stress of day to day life is completely left behind."

Separately, more than half of UK business workers surveyed by Mesmo Consultancy said that they check their emails when on holiday or off work feeling unwell. Worryingly, 12 per cent of respondents admitted to checking their email account over five times a day when out of the office.

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