Office email intrudes on holiday work-family balance

Fess up: Did you check your work email over the recent Thanksgiving holiday? If you did, you’re in good company (although maybe not in the good graces of your family or in-laws for doing so). A recent survey shows a majority (59%) of employed American adults check work-related emails during the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

A November online survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Xobni suggests the balance of work and family during holidays is tipping more toward work.

Of those who checked emails amidst the recent turkey dinners or football games, 79 percent said they received work-related emails from colleagues or clients during a holiday. Of those, one in ten admitted reading and sending emails while spending time with friends or relatives at holiday gatherings or meals.

To be sure, many workers (41 percent) are annoyed, resentful or frustrated to have received work emails during the holidays.  According to the survey results, younger adults have the strongest opinion on this matter, with 56 percent ages 18-34 stating they have negative reactions to getting work emails on holiday, compared to just 39 percent of adults ages 35-44 and 30 percent ages 45-54. 

The survey also found that 12 percent of respondents actually “dread” seeing work emails populate their inbox, while 10 percent even “feel pity” for those who send work-related emails on holidays.

On the flip side, many surveyed workers (42%) say staying in touch actually eases workload upon return to the office. Moreover, 19 percent of those receiving work emails from a co-worker or client while they had time off for the holidays suggested feeling “thankful” or “relieved” at having the work distraction.

Finally, of those who check work email while on holiday, five percent actually admitted to using work email as an excuse to avoid “awkward family moments and other holiday commitments.”

All of this makes me wonder: Perhaps the creators of the Corona beer commercials will need to revise their classic ad in which holiday-going, sun-tanned, beach-lounging subjects toss their PDAs into the ocean when the office emails start arriving.