More Americans Choosing to Work While on Vacation

Are you one of those people who can’t let go of work, even during your vacation?  If so, you’re not alone.

TeamViewer®, one of the world’s most popular providers of remote control and online meetings software, recently announced the findings of its survey of over 2,000 American adults aged 18 and older (of which 1,309 are employed full time, part time and/or self employed), conducted online by Harris Interactive in May.  The survey, which was aimed at determining American attitudes and behavior toward working during their summer vacations, found that more than half of employed Americans say they will work during their summer vacation this year.  This is up by 6 percentage points from a similar survey released last year by The Harris Poll/Adweek.

With more Americans expecting to work this year, vacations are becoming less relaxing.  Of those who are employed full time, part time and/or self employed, the survey showed that workers are expecting to perform a variety of tasks, including:

• I will read work-related emails – 30%
• I will receive work-related phone calls – 23%
• I will want access to a document on my home computer – 19%
• I will receive work-related text messages – 18%
• I will want access to a document on my work computer – 13%
• I will be asked to do work by a boss, client or colleague – 13%

Interestingly, employed men in particular were more likely to say they plan to work during their summer vacation this year than employed women (56% vs. 47%), and employed Americans living in the West, as opposed to those living in the South, are more likely to say they’ll plan to read work-related emails (39% vs. 25%) during their summer vacation.  Additionally, employed single Americans expect to be asked to do work by a boss, client or colleague more often than married Americans (15% vs. 6%).

“With an increasing number of employees staying connected during their vacation, efficient tools are more important than ever before,” said Holger Felgner, General Manager at TeamViewer.