As thousands of UK families enjoy the Easter break over a third (36 percent) of parent admit that their quality family time will be taken over by work.
A survey by call answering service alldayPA, reveals out of 1,000 respondents, 12 percent of working parents are likely to carry out at least 4 hours of unpaid work when on holiday with their families. 32 percent admit they would answer work calls while on holiday and 36 percent would check and respond to work emails.
23 percent say that their children and/or partner regularly complain about them answering calls and completing work while they are supposedly ‘off-duty’.
One of the major causes of disruption are smart phones with 86 percent carrying out their work on the devices while away.
Sue Ratcliffe, spokesperson for alldayPA, said:
“Smart phones are an incredibly useful tool, but they blur the boundaries of work and home. Recent studies indicate that as a nation we’re becoming more and more addicted to our smartphones and perhaps need to make a conscious effort to put them to one side, especially during holidays with our families.
Smart phones have been found to be psychologically addictive with the average smartphone user spending 3.6 hours a day on a device according to research by the University of Derby. Participants have admitted to smartphones being the major distraction to their work or hobbies and 35 percent even admitting to using them in situations where they were banned.
More and more smartphone users are seeking help and a way to reduce their ‘habit’ by using services like Digital Detox, which offers a messaging service while on holiday in order to inform clients that the user will not be responding to emails and calls.
Sue Ratcliffe says that alldayPA is seeing increasing enquiries about the service, which help smartphone users take a Digital Detox. She says:
“A Digital Detox does exactly what the name implies, it will break the cycle of dependency, allowing even the busiest person to leave the mobile behind and focus on their holiday enjoying a restful, communication-free break without worrying about missing calls or messages.”
Amie Filcher is an editorial assistant at HRreview.