NEARLY 80 per cent of British professions feel anxious when returning to work after taking annual leave.
New research has found that 78 per cent of UK professionals report feeling anxious upon returning to work after taking annual leave, with 51 per cent admitting implementing firefighting tactics to reduce the backlog of work they’ll return to.
Chris Eldridge, CEO of Robert Walters UK&I comments: “Professionals suffering with annual leave anxiety not only threaten to lower already historically low engagement rates, but our research suggests that it could have major implications for productivity rates in workplaces.”
The anxiety surrounding work emails is so widespread that many professionals’ resort to "firefighting" tactics. In fact, 51 per cent of UK professionals check their work emails during annual leave to reduce the backlog they'll face upon returning, while 43 per cent do so to stay on top of urgent matters.
Further Robert Walters research shows how being able to fully ‘switch off’ from work is a key part of maintaining both a satisfactory work-life balance as well as productivity levels.
Although the UK government initially proposed a legal "Right to Switch Off" under the Employment Rights Bill, it was ultimately removed due to the perceived burden it would place on businesses.
Chris comments: “Apps such as Slack and MS Teams help to put work right at our fingertips 24/7 – whilst useful, it can result in professionals feeling obligated to ‘check in’ during their time off.”
Findings from Robert Walters reveal that back-to-work anxiety significantly impacts professionals as they return to work, with only 15 per cent of UK professionals feeling refreshed and ready to work after a long holiday.
Chris comments: “Returning to work can trigger many anxieties for professionals, falling behind on important projects, missing major updates or even being handed much heavier workloads. Annual leave should provide professionals respite and a chance to reset – it shouldn’t cause them to become more stressed than before they went away.”
Enter ‘FOFB’, the fear of falling behind, a new phenomenon that seems to be rife in workplaces. Resoundingly, 67 per cent of professionals across the UK state that it's much easier to relax on annual leave when their teams are also off.
A study by NatWest showed that in 2024, 45 per cent of employees in the UK failed to take all their allotted annual leave. With trends such as ‘guilt-tripping’ leading some professionals to feel pressured into holding off from booking annual leave due to not wanting to look like a ‘bad worker’ compared to their colleagues.
Chris comments: “Not only are professionals resorting to inbox-watching during annual leave, but some are even putting off booking it all together due to fears of how it may make them look at work.”