61% of Americans Plan to Work During Summer Vacation

More people plan on working this summer than in 2012.

TeamViewer®, one of the world’s most popular providers of remote control and online meetings software, announced the findings of its annual Work/Life Balance Index, fielded among over 2,000 American adults aged 18 and older, of which 1,094 are employed full time, part time and/or self-employed, conducted online by Harris Interactive in June.  The survey, which was aimed at determining American attitudes and behavior toward working during their summer vacations, found that 61% of employed vacationers plan to work during that time, expecting to perform tasks that include:

•     Reading work-related emails – 38%
•     Wanting work-related access to a document on work/home computer – 32%
•     Receiving work-related calls – 30%
•     Receiving work-related text messages – 24%
•     Being asked to do work by a boss, client or colleague – 20%

In a similar survey released last year by TeamViewer, the study found that 52% of employed Americans said they would work during their summer vacations.

Now, in 2013, employed Americans plan to be prepared.  69% say they will bring a work-capable device with them on vacation, with 61% who plan to bring up to three such devices.  In addition, 67% of vacationers say they actually expect to use a device for work-related purposes, with smartphone (40%) as the most popular device to use, followed by laptop (39%), desktop computer (24%) and a tablet (18%).

And it’s not surprising that Americans plan to go on vacation armed with the work-capable devices they need.  Fully 83% agree that having to work during vacation is becoming more common in America, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy about it.  In fact, 89% say they would react if they were asked to work during vacation by their boss, many in emotional or even sneaky ways, including:

•     Do the work, but not happily – 34%
•     Feel that my boss doesn’t respect my time – 29%
•     Worry about the boundaries of my personal life – 24%
•     I would say no – 22%
•     Be happy to do the work – 14%
•     I would turn off my devices and ignore it altogether – 13%
•     I would pretend I didn’t see the incoming message, text, etc. – 11%

An extreme 6% said they would use the vacation to update their resume to look for a new job, followed by saying they might throw something (4%) cry (3%) or even quit their job (2%).

Interestingly, the study shows that the trend of mixing work into summer vacation is particularly acute among Generation Y, those currently aged 18-34, who are statistically more likely than any other age group to say they expect to work during their vacation (73%), expect to bring (82%) and then need to use (79%) a work-capable device.

Holger Felgner, General Manager at TeamViewer

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