Are You a Workaholic? Survey Says We’re Working Around the Clock

According to a new survey, Irish people are getting worse and worse when it comes to leaving their work where it belongs – in the office.

The Irish Daily Mail reports that checking emails, taking phone calls and conducting emergency Skype conferences are just some of the work-related activities we engage in, even when we’re off the clock.

In fact, we’ve become such a nation of workaholics that we’re actually right up the top of European rankings when it comes to working when we’re supposed to be relaxing. Apparently, we never disconnect from work mode – even when we’re on holidays. Shocking, right?

While one expert said that the results show we need to switch off and have more ‘me time’ when we’re not in the office, 1 in 10 of the workers questioned said that they are afraid they will lose their jobs if they don’t work out of office hours.

According to the results of the survey, 60 per cent of Irish workers said that their boss expects them to answer their phone and emails while they are on holiday and 74 per cent of workers stated that they had been contacted by their office in relation to work while they were off.

At least a quarter of Irish workers said that they felt they had to work on holiday, that it was expected of them and they were too afraid that they would lose their job if they didn’t do it.

“Our roles and work/home lives are ever blurring but it is important to set aside precious time for a holiday to connect with your family, friends and ourselves. Our employers should also acknowledge our need to remove ourselves completely from the working environment,” said Allison Keating, a psychologist.

“It’s worrying that workers in Ireland don’t value their free time as ‘me time.’ It’s important that people reclaim their free time and set ground rules on being contacted during their time off. This is supposed to be a time to switch off literally and metaphorically,” said Mark Maddock, the MD of Lastminute.com, who commissioned the survey.

Do you feel that working out of hours is expected of you?