For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.
Home and Work Boundaries Are Blurring
For example, many Americans cannot seem to enjoy their vacations, with thoughts of work running through their heads. Forty-two percent of poll respondents feel compelled to check in with work while on vacation. Age seems to have a bearing on this mindset, with 45% of Millennials and Generation Xers saying they are likely to check in, while only 36% of Baby Boomers say the same.
Just more than one-quarter (26%) of respondents feel guilty about using all of their vacation days. Millennials seem to feel the most guilty (40%), while fewer of their Gen X and Boomer counterparts feel such guilt (28% and 18%, respectively). Only 8% of the Mature or Silent Generation say they feel guilty about taking vacation. The poll also finds that almost half of employees (47%) feel guilty if they do not work when they are sick.
Many employees (45%) also feel compelled to check and respond to emails after traditional work hours. Again, this mindset seems to have a correlation with age, with 52% of Millennials and 47% of Gen Xers reporting they are likely to do so. Other the hand, only 39% of Boomers report doing so.
Overall, only 33% of employees say that the blurring of home and work boundaries has increased their productivity, while 67% say it has not.
A June survey by collaboration software and services provider PGi came up with similar findings about the blurring of home and work boundaries, noting that 88% of respondents work above and beyond the traditional 40-hour work week, and 71% take home work at least one day a week. PGi initiated a “TakeBack60” campaign and asked employees what they would do with 60 extra minutes added to their day.
Answers included:
- Go back to school – 10%;
- Cook – 10%;
- Enjoy more media time watching TV shows or movies – 13%;
- Spend time with friends – 17%;
- Take a nap/relax – 18%;
- Run errands – 22%;
- Learn or improve skill(s) – 23%;
- Do household chores – 25%;
- Pursue a hobby – 31%;
- Exercise – 64%; and
- Spend time with family – 64%.
The Randstad poll, carried out online by Ipsos Public Affairs, took place in April. It sampled 2,257 adults age 18 and older from across the United States.