Don't take the job away with you

Picture the scene. You're enjoying a romantic holiday with your boyfriend in Venice to celebrate your third anniversary together and you switch your mobile phone on to send text messages to friends and family. You've barely got through the first boast about gondolier rides and pizzas the size of tractor tyres, when a message flashes up. It's the boss, and he wants you to ring. Urgently.

That's what happened to Fiona Hughes a year ago in Venice. And she's not alone. Nearly six out of 10 office workers are increasingly unable to switch off from office interruptions while on holiday, according to a survey of 1,500 office workers by Office Angels.

Hughes, who works for an IT firm, believes that she did everything possible to avoid interruptions from work colleagues prior to her holiday. "It was a really big deal as it was our three-year anniversary and my boyfriend organised the holiday to Venice as a surprise," explains Hughes. "I had to produce a document for the board so I made sure that I finished it by Thursday and had all of Friday to talk it through with my boss. I sent the work directly to my boss as an email attachment with clear instructions on where to find the document on the computer."

Not that this deterred Hughes's boss from calling her during the trip demanding to know where the document was located. "My boyfriend was cross as he had organised the holiday so perfectly and I had worked really hard the week before to ensure a smooth transition," she says. "When I returned to work after the holiday, my boss didn't even apologise for phoning me while on holiday and told me it was a bad time to go on holiday."

Laura Brown is a 46-year-old call centre manager based in south-east England, who has a company mobile on which she can make a limited number of private calls. Good deal - except that it means that she is on 24-hour call even when on holiday.

"Even when I put 'out of office' on my computer and leave contact details on my work phone, colleagues will still ring me with queries," moans Brown. "I don't mind being called in the case of real emergencies but often you are being called for trivial things or they just want a chat."

In fact, work has encroached on to leisure time to the extent that UK office workers think about work for an average of an hour a day while on holiday, according to Office Angels. The emergence of technology also plays its part in ensuring that people are never far from the office. "When I first came into management, the mobile phone and the BlackBerry weren't around but as the technology has emerged, we are on call all the time," reflects Brown.

Cary Cooper, professor of occupational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School, believes that workers in the UK are now being plagued with more interruptions from the office while on holiday due to heightened fears about job insecurity and a management culture which is quick to blame its workforce for the most minor transgressions.

"From shop floor to top floor, people are more vulnerable than before and due to job insecurity, they want to keep in touch with work colleagues," says Cooper. "This creates a culture where people don't want to take risks and make decisions."

And office calls during holidays create stress between partners, with nearly half of office workers identifying work as the cause of the most arguments on holidays. "The amount of disposable personal time with a partner is nominal in the UK. Often both partners work and couples in the UK work the longest hours in Europe," says Cooper. "The amount of time you spend with your partner is absolutely critical. There is a direct correlation with divorce rates and the long working hours in the UK."

Alexandra Jones, associate director for the Work Foundation, urges employees to establish ground rules with their work colleagues before departing for sunnier climes. "Either state that you want to be contacted while on holiday or that you don't want to be contacted unless it's an absolute emergency," comments Jones. "It's really important to relax on holiday and to go off with a clear conscience and switch your mobile off. This can be achieved by ensuring a smooth transfer prior to your trip."

Some names have been changed.