One in four workers can't unplug
Categories: Money & work, In the news
Twenty-four hour Internet access is so common these days that one out of every four workers plan to work during their 2008 vacations, according to a survey conducted by careerbuilder.com, which is an increase of 20 percent over the previous year's results.Almost one in ten surveyed also said their bosses expect them to check e-mail and/or voice mail while they are away from the office, and 15 percent of workers said they gave up vacation days in 2007 because they were too busy to use them.
Industry and expectations seem to play a big role in workers' desire to stay connected. We all know how important the IT guys is -- and next time you call him because your laptop explodes, be nice. Nearly 19 percent of IT professionals said checking their e-mail and voice mail during vacation is expected, compared to 12 percent of those in the professional and business services sectors.
As a mother of two who works out of the home, my work weeks are just as busy -- if not more so -- than when I hunkered down in my cube at the Huge Multinational Corporation that used to write my paycheck. The rewards of being home while my kids are growing up are more than worth the trade-offs, but the downside is that working at home means I can work pretty much 24/7.
Lately I've found myself checking my e-mail when I could be on the floor playing with my son or daughter. We're traveling this week, and I won't have access to my beloved interwebs for two entire days -- that's 48 hours of unplugged time.
I have to say I'm really looking forward to it. You know things are bad when a 12-hour, two-day road trip with your husband, a 3-year-old and an 8-week old is considered a "vacation."
What about you? Are you over-connected or do yo know when to turn it off?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave 10-07-2008 @ 12:11PM
I am that IT guy! I do not have the requirement, by my employer, to stay connected 24/7. That being said, the people I support at work know that we have an on-call tech who handles their after-hours issues. If they call me, it's becuase they can't reach him and know that I will help in that situation. I have a problem "disconnecting" when I am on vacation (very rare, by the way) or on weekends. I know that the best way to get news and information is through the Internet. I don't think it is possible, anymore, to stay disconnected for any length of time.
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