Calls from superiors, messages from your team or emails from business partners – seven out of ten employees (71 percent) can be reached professionally while on vacation this summer. Only a quarter (27%) don't want to be bothered with official requests during the holidays. This is the result of a representative survey of over 1,000 people in Germany aged 16 and over.
Seven out of ten workers who are planning a summer vacation (70 percent) can be reached via SMS or Messenger. Two out of three (64%) are willing to call. A good quarter read and reply to emails (27%) and participate in video conferences, for example via Zoom, Skype or FaceTime (27%). A sixth (16%) can be reached through collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack.
The main reason is the expectations of the professional environment: two out of three employees (63%) are available to work during the summer holidays because they assume that colleagues expect it. According to respondents, half (50%) expect it from their superiors. Only 15% would like to be reachable.
The vast majority of those who can be reached on summer vacation are still convinced that they can easily switch off on vacation (86 percent). At the same time, one in two people (49%) feel pressured to always be available on holiday. A full third (36 percent) are afraid of missing out if they can't be reached all the time on vacation.
“Mobile and flexible working is part of everyday life for many people today. Where work and private life increasingly merge, it is all the more important to take time off and enjoy the summer holidays undisturbed,” says Bitkom CEO Dr. Bernhard Rohleder. “Employers have a responsibility to establish substitute solutions functioning so that employees can relax during the holidays. Holidays should only be interrupted in the event of an extreme emergency”. This requires clear rules and equally clear guidance, for example regarding the basic expectations of the company and its employees.