Surprising findings from Portfolio Payroll and employment law firm, Peninsula show that employees would rather be at work then on holiday; a result which shows that workers in the UK are more tied to their desks then ever before.

According to the poll of 2531 employees, 71% would rather work than have a lengthy Christmas break.

Supporting these findings are figures which reveal that there has been less recorded time off this year than ever before.

Within the M25 respondents said they had taken an average 12 days leave between September 2003 and September 2004 compared to 15 days taken during the same time period in the year before. Workers in the North East topped the charts with the most annual leave, recording an average 17 days for September 2003 to September 2004; a decrease of three days from the same period in 2002-2003.

Danny Done, managing director of Portfolio Payroll commented:

“There have been a lot of misconstrued ideas about employees in the UK. It was widely believed that we were a nation of skivers and thrived off our own laziness. But as the results of this poll indicate, the nature of this idea is a lot more complex.

“After all we are social animals which instinctively need routine and purpose. The workplace supplies this to an individual and as we can see the workplace is fast becoming an environment which employees are finding themselves more and more attached to.”

In a warning to employers Done encourages employers to look at the bigger picture and counteract the detrimental effects of stress. Done suggests businesses create an environment in which employees can learn to appreciate the importance of breaks and learn to enjoy their holidays.