If you check your work email on vacation, are you truly on vacation?
Cybersecurity firm McAfee recently surveyed 3,000 people in Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. and found that people aren’t unplugging on vacation as much as they’d like.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents said that if work wasn’t a factor, they would disconnect completely from their devices during their time away from the office. But 38 percent of respondents could not go a single day of their vacations without checking their email accounts (work or personal), while 37 percent posted something every day of a recent vacation to social media. The most important finding, though, is that almost no one who avoided their devices while on vacation regretted it: 81 percent of the people who disconnected believed they had happier vacations as a result.
Of course, a complete break from technology isn’t for everyone. There’s nothing wrong with putting a picture of a beautiful view on Instagram, and mom’s email wishing you a relaxing week deserves a response. The extent of your technology-use on vacation is simply something to reflect on before you travel, because it’s all too easy to slip into workweek habits if you’re not careful.
How much do you actually want to use your phone or laptop on your next vacation? Consider that question while taking a look at McAfee’s findings here.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com