The nation’s increasingly
wired workers are finding it hard to leave the office at home this summer, according
to a new survey from CareerBuilder.com and Harris Interactive. Twenty percent
of the 6,800 workers surveyed say they plan to stay in touch with the office during
their vacation this year, even though only nine percent report that their
employers expect them to check voice mail or e-mail on vacation. IT workers are
the most likely (36 percent) to check in with the office during vacations,
followed by sales workers (32 percent) and banking/finance workers (29
percent).
The survey also found
that 14 percent of workers feel guilty if they’re not working while on
vacation. And nine percent say they’ve lied to their employers that they
couldn’t be reached on vacation.
Many employees reported
that they don’t take all their vacation days because they simply can’t get away.
Fifteen percent said they gave up at least one vacation day last year because
of too much work, and 10 percent gave up 4 or more days. What’s more, 20 percent
of workers reported that they won’t take a vacation at all this year, and 27
percent said they’ll take 5 days or less. Almost one in 10 employees will find
time only for weekend getaways in 2007.