Smartphones are source of stress especially during holidays, says report

National Stress Awareness Day: Advanced technology makes it harder for Brits to switch off

14:16 07 November 2012

Holiday season is fast approaching and a lot of people are looking forward to going out of town (or country) or just staying at home with friends and family members. But do these people really manage to stay away from work?

 

According to a survey carried out by last minute holiday firm Latedeals.co.uk, 77per cent of 2,000 people surveyed regularly checked work emails while on holiday this year. What’s more alarming is that 65per cent responded to their emails using smartphones.

The research, which was conducted in time for National Stress Awareness Day on November 7th, aimed to figure out how smartphones cause stress, and how people feel after reading and replying to work emails.

The results are indeed stressful and startling. Latedeals found that 89per cent of adults admit that they’re not switching off their smartphones as they wanted to be updated on what’s happening in their workplace.

The study also reveals that on average, Britons check their emails for the first 4.5hours of their holiday, and reply to at least 12 emails over a week-long break - even if these emails are not urgent.

Almost half admitted to not switching their phones off day and night even when they were abroad. More than 1/3 took their phones to the beach, 22per cent checked work emails while on the plane, and 6/10 ignored their partners when they complained about not relaxing while on vacation.