According to a new study by Office Angels, going on the annual summer holiday is giving rise to Summer Office Withdrawal (S.O.W) syndrome among office workers. , , the UK’s leading secretarial and office support recruitment consultancy. 86% of employees claim that in the first few days of a holiday, they find it difficult to adapt from office life to holiday mode.
The survey, conducted among 1,500 office employees and employers shows that for over 50% of office workers on a week’s holiday, it takes at least half of the vacation to wind-down and forget about the demands of office life.
This has a variety of symptoms: 62% stress about ensuring each day is packed with activities; 40% get worked up about clinching that perfect spot by the pool; and 25% make daily checks for work messages on their mobile phone. Even 10% of office workers admit to worrying about sleeping in and missing the inclusive breakfast.
Over two-thirds (68%) of employees say while on holiday they find it difficult to adjust to having lots of unstructured time. Additionally 45% admit to missing the ‘buzz and banter’ of daily office life.
It seems that in the noughties culture of presenteeism, employees have developed an unwavering commitment to work and as a result find it difficult to switch off on holiday. They fear that time off will harm their career.
