More than one in two work during their summer holidays

For many, the work life without boundaries extends into the summer holidays. A new survey by Analyse Danmark for IDA shows that more than half of respondents some extent are available to their workplace during their summer holiday. 

In the survey, 52 per cent answered that they are available by phone and email, which they check less often than daily, while one in five reads emails and messages on a daily basis. Overall, 620,000 Danes are prepared to solve work tasks in their summer holiday.

Only 47 per cent. respond that they have completely pulled the digital plug and cannot be contacted by their workplace during the summer holidays. And Malene Matthison-Hansen, chairperson of IDA's council of employees says we should learn from that 47% share.

'The purpose of your holiday is to give you peace and quiet to recover your brain and do something different from what you do every day. If we don't give our brain that break, we risk our brain becoming overloaded. It's not rocket science, but do yourself and your family a favour and shut down emails, calls and text messages from the workplace. In the same way that we can wear down the body if we work with heavy lifting every day, we can overload the brain if we don't let the brain recover,' she says.

'When we want to check the weather or the next train departure, we may be notified of 10 unread work emails - and it takes a lot to resist the temptation of checking to see what those emails contain. In this way, one's brain has gone from being on holiday to being at work in a flash. 

She points out that a summer holiday serves an important purpose, giving us the peace and quiet to give our brain the rest it needs and do something different from our everyday lives. If we don't, we risk overloading our brains.

'When we work like that and are on standby during our holidays, we are not helping ourselves. On the contrary, because then you are not really present anywhere, and that can cause frustration among both the family and friends you were supposed to be holidaying with and the colleagues who are doing your work in your absence. And you're not helping your workplace either, because you come back without being rested, with less energy and a higher risk of burning out' says Malene Matthison-Hansen.

In the survey, 25 percent responded that their employer either expects or even requires that they are available during their summer holidays. And as many as 73% say they are not compensated for being available.

And that's not good enough, says Malene Matthison-Hansen.

'Our digital society never shuts down, but we as employees need to find sensible ways to manage its impact on our daily lives to sustain a long and healthy work life with clear boundaries. The same applies to employers. The basis for our summer holidays is the Holiday Act, which entitles all employees to five weeks' holiday, and that holiday is intended as real time off from work, precisely because we in Denmark have agreed that we need to rest and relax for at least five weeks a year. The responsibility for ensuring peace and quiet during the holiday lies with employers. It is their duty to support the purpose of the Holiday Act and ensure that employees can take their holidays without disruption,' she says.

'Employers should therefore create a culture where holidays are respected and where holidays are holidays and not a chance to do odd jobs. We need to be able to work for many years, and creating a sustainable work life requires conscious choices and clear agreements, and, as a natural part of this, also agree on compensation if it is a requirement or expectation that you must be available. You are actually entitled to this,' says Malene Matthison-Hansen.