‘Ban BlackBerrys from the beach’
Two thirds of people have their holidays interrupted by work, while 80% worry about the office while they are abroad, according to a new poll.
The survey also found that a third of people take their laptops or BlackBerrys on holiday.
Three-quarters of the 1,000 questioned have made or taken a work telephone call while on holiday and more than half have sent a work-related email.
The survey for Sheffield-based online travel firm AlphaRooms.com has prompted calls for mobile email devices and laptops to be banned from holidays.
Neil Shah, director of The Stress Management Society, said: “The purpose of a holiday is to remove yourself from the work environment which is often the cause of stress and it defeats the purpose if you take that work and that stress with you.
“We spend our lives surrounded by technology, talking on our mobile phones, sitting in front of a computer and plugged into iPods, all of which can cause stress.
“People should try where possible to leave their phones and computers behind, spend a few days without electromagentic frequencies interfering with their brains and instead trying to unwind, perhaps by lying on a beach, walking, having a massage or swimming to de-stress.”
AlphaRooms’com online marketing manager Gareth Hockey said: “Unfortunately the downside of the communication age in which we live is that we are rarely ever truly out of contact.
“Even when on holiday it’s all too easy to make a work telephone call, send an email or even take our BlackBerry or laptop to the beach.
“Holidays should be a time of total rest and relaxation, when work and the stress of day to day life is completely left behind.
“For that reason AlphaRooms.com is calling for the British public to ban their BlackBerrys from the beach, try to put work out of their mind and use their holiday for fun, relaxation and an opportunity to recharge the batteries.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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