1 in 3 won't switch off over Christmas as recession pressure grows

A study of over 2,000 UK office workers revealed that while the majority (83%) of bosses say they will encourage their employees to switch off during the holiday season, a third (32%) plan to be online - even when they have time off. 
 
36% of employees who are available for work will check in on Christmas Eve—even though it falls on a Saturday this year. 

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The "Festive Season Survey”, conducted by Slack, showed nearly one in five (19%) plan to check their work messages on Boxing Day, and one in 10 (10%) will do so on Christmas Day.
 
The findings show how the looming recession is impacting employees’ ability to switch off.

38% of bosses note there’s no day over the holiday period where they expect employees to check in with work—whether that’s looking at messages, emails or providing an update. 
 
However, the data indicates that employees are struggling to disconnect because of their own drive, as three in five (53%) of those who have time off say they are available to work.
 
Half (49%) of the employees surveyed as well as 50% of bosses worry that the pressure to be constantly available for work will lead to burnout. 

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Helping employees to establish clear boundaries is critical, especially as almost a third (33%) of all office workers say it takes them up to three days to switch off during the holidays, the study noted.
   
72% of employees believe having a good digital infrastructure makes it easier to show managers, co-workers and customers that they’re on holiday and not to be disturbed, while over three in five (61%) agree it makes it easier to balance work and private life. 

The majority (65%) of employees plan to switch their notifications off for the entire Christmas period, while almost half (48%) plan to use a status to set expectations about their availability to work. 
  
Chris Mills, Head of Customer Success, EMEA, at Slack, said: “Technology has enabled employees to work faster and smarter in a hybrid working world, but it’s vital that employees know they can switch off during the Christmas break and are empowered to do so. 

"If technology is harnessed in the right way, it can make the difference. Features, included in tools like Slack, such as scheduled send, Do Not Disturb and custom statuses, allow workers to stay in control, enabling companies to create a healthy culture where employees can thrive in 2023 and beyond.”
 
Kerstin Rothermel, Global People Leader at Ride company Bolt said: "We advise employees to block margin times in their work calendars and explicitly encourage them not to work on holidays or during vacation.

"When it comes to collaboration, we rely on openness and transparency, for instance through shared documents, which allow vacation replacements to take over the respective tasks more easily and without questions."