Okay, be honest: when you're on vacation, do you sneak a peek at your work e-mail?
If you said yes, you're not alone. More than two-thirds of us check work e-mails or voice messages when we should be enjoying a holiday, according to the annual national Vacation Deprivation survey conducted by Expedia.ca, Canada's leading online travel provider.
In all, 38% of respondents said they checked work e-mails or voicemails "regularly" or "constantly" while on vacation – an increase of 11% over last year's findings. A further 30% admit they check at least "sometimes".
"This is part of the reason Canadians are increasingly feeling what we call vacation deprivation," says Sean Shannon, managing director of Expedia Canada. "They feel that they just don't get enough vacation time, or that they can't fully utilize the time they are entitled to – and this need to check in with the office can feed that perception. Even on vacation, they still feel like they're tending to their work."
Ontarians are the biggest checkers of work-related voice and e-mail messages while on vacation, with 41% doing it "regularly" or "constantly". Nationally, only one-third of Canadians say they never check messages while on vacation.
