Holiday Fever Costs Employers Almost 500 pounds per Member of Staff

Posted by Sue Anderson, 10th Jun 2014

When you've booked a holiday, it's difficult to think about anything else at all. The excitement is almost enough to make you pop. However, you need to be careful that this doesn't interfere with your work, because you boss won't be too impressed if they catch on.

We wanted to find out just how much of a distraction holidays proved to be in the workplace, so we spoke to 1,885 Britons who were in full time employment and had been on holiday abroad in the last 12 months. Everyone we spoke to had been in the same job for at least one year.

Employees spend 38 hours planning, booking or reminiscing about holidays when they should be working



When we asked, 'How much time, approximately, did you spend thinking, daydreaming, planning, researching and/or booking your holiday abroad whilst in the workplace before your last trip?' the answers given by those taking part accumulated to an average of '32 hours' in total. Respondents were only asked to take the hours into account when they should have been working, as opposed to during designated breaks.

When we then asked 'How much time, approximately, did you spend reminiscing about your holiday at work once you returned from your last trip and/or looking through photos and talking to colleagues about the holiday?' The average answer given by the people we spoke to was '6 hours'. Again, we only asked people to take the hours into account when they should have been working rather than during their breaks. These results mean that 'holiday fever' makes the average employee in Britain lack productivity for a total of 38 hours around the time of a holiday. Tut tut!



89% admit to being 'much less productive' at work before and after a holiday



According to our poll, the average Briton's salary when broken down to find an hourly rate is £12.60 per hour. This would mean that the average employer loses £478.80 per employee due to the hours they waste on holiday related discussions or planning activity in the run up to the holiday and the period in which they return to work.

When we asked if their productivity at work before and after a holiday was affected as a direct result of the trip they were about to or had already taken, 89% of the people taking part admitted they were 'much less productive' at work just before and straight after a holiday.

As soon as you book a holiday, it's easy to get caught up in all the excitement and for the trip to be on your mind 24/7. Researching activities that you can do once you've arrived at your destination, showing your friends, colleagues and every unfortunate passer-by pictures of the lovely hotel you'll be staying in and bragging about the trip you've planned can be quite time-consuming.

People should be warned though that they're best off tying up loose ends at work and getting everything in place for their time away, or risk having to deal with a lot of stress once they're back. Employers are clearly losing out due to staff members whose productivity levels plummet before and just after a holiday, so perhaps they need to keep a closer eye on those who will be jetting off abroad in the coming weeks to check they're doing what they're paid for and not gossiping about the scuba diving excursion they've planned.
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