PH workers work even on vacation, study shows

Workers in the Philippines are likely to lose precious holiday time this year because many of them insist on working even during vacations, according to a survey conducted by Regus, an international outsourced office space provider.

Regus said it had surveyed more than 26,000 business people from 96 countries to determine how much of their holidays were they planning to spend on work-related activities.

In the Philippines, 52 percent of professionals polled answered that that they would work one to three hours a day during their holidays. Another 20 percent were planning to devote more than three hours a day on professional tasks.

In addition, 53 percent said their level of attention to work while on holiday allowed them to conduct “business as usual” although at slightly reduced levels.

“Professionals in the Philippines are working even harder on holidays than in other countries,” Regus said in a statement.

Worldwide, 39 percent of business professionals take a slightly reduced “business as usual” approach to their holiday, while 17 percent plan to work more than three hours a day and 41 percent say they dedicate one to three hours a day to work.

The research also found that men had the most difficulty “switching off,” with 42 percent of men globally mixed vacations with work by making calls, responding to e-mail and attending to business during their vacation.

A significant proportion of professional women (34 percent) were committed to the same level of work, the study found.

This gender trend is confirmed with 44 percent of professional men worldwide saying they will work between one and three hours a day, compared with 35 percent of women.

Eighteen percent of men devote more than three hours daily to work versus 16 percent of female professionals.

“The dedication people worldwide are showing toward their jobs is admirable with a huge percentage of business professionals taking their work away with them,” Regus Asia-Pacific regional director John Henderson said.

“However, this can also be interpreted as an indication that they feel overstretched or insecure in their jobs and are unable to properly switch off.”

“The effects of work place stress are well documented so it is important that workers carve out some personal time,” he added.

“On the one hand, technology, such as video communications and wi-fi, has certainly made working from almost anywhere in the world a reality. On the other hand,   this innovation should be channeled toward helping professionals work more flexibly and productively,” Henderson added.

“Allowing workers reduce their commute or work closer to home can help professionals work more efficiently so they can really devote their holidays to relaxing.”