British holiday makers can’t switch off from the office while on holiday, declares flight booking company Just The Flight. Holidays used to be a time of relaxation and peace, but the rising use of smartphones, and the inescapable tide of emails and notifications has pulled the office outside of its four walls. A survey conducted by Just The Flight has revealed that this is indeed the case: British holiday preparations no longer include wrapping up at work.

As the holiday season approaches, we can guarantee leaving behind the miserable weather, but not our work. Out of the 1,000 respondents to Just The Flight’s survey, 70% check their work emails while on holiday. Over half (65%) of those that responded attempted a digital detox to avoid work-related notifications – and one in three failed in their efforts.

Just under half (49%) of workers access their emails from their smartphones, while a fifth (22%) go as far as bringing a laptop on holiday. Over a quarter of workers checked their emails multiple times a day, and out of these individuals, 53% felt a need to respond. However, only 16% forward emails onto a colleague.

Why do Brits feel the need to be constantly up to date?  “I find it very hard to stay on track,” answers Simon Goddard from www.justtheflight.co.uk . “We’ve found that holidaymakers are very much the same.  We’re returning from holidays with even more emails than those we took a break from. It’s also quite frightening as I’m constantly playing catch-up, like I’m being punished for taking time off.”

The survey confirms these thoughts: one-third of respondents felt the need to work over their holiday to lessen the workload on return, and 38% need at least two to three days to catch up with the deluge of work emails. 60% of the workers who took the survey came back to a staggering amount of emails: over 250 after a two-week holiday.

Many of us feel as though we can’t leave our offices behind. Just under a third (30%) of respondents described themselves as obligated to their job, and just over 6% describe themselves as addicted to their job.

While rigorous diets are as popular as ever, the digital detox is one holiday preparation that we’re leaving behind.

www.justtheflight.co.uk