CV-Online Estonia survey: about 83% of people work on holiday

The results of a recent study conducted in August by CV-Online Estonia (CV.ee) about working during vacation shows that as many as 83% of Estonian employees work even while on vacation.

A recent survey reveals that work is mostly done voluntarily and with the desire to earn extra money at the expense of vacation. In addition, excessive workload and poor time management skills also favor doing work on vacation.

How and when Estonians work has changed dramatically. Even if employees officially have time off, it does not mean that they stop working. What's more, the widespread of remote working opportunities due to crises favors an exacerbation of the situation: as the official boundaries separating work from leisure have become more blurred, workers may feel pressured to work on holiday.

What are the main reasons for working on holiday?

During the vacation, people have had to work for whom no replacement can be found (21.7%), who want to earn extra money (19.5%), who have an excessive workload, whose work-related deadlines fell into the vacation period (15.9%). To a lesser extent, pressure from the employer/colleagues, the desire to keep up with what is happening at work, and being overwhelmed by working at several jobs were mentioned. In addition, difficulties in getting ready for work during the vacation, urgent and time-consuming tasks, working as a freelancer, and not having "earned the vacation" were also mentioned as reasons for working on vacation.

"According to Estonians, it is customary for most working-age people to work during holidays, but it is often a voluntary decision rather than pressure from the employer. The fear of the pile-up of work tasks and the desire to earn extra money during vacation is so extensive that it is difficult to let oneself go and give their mind a break. However, this is a trend that employers should definitely follow in order to maintain the physical and mental health of their employees,'' commented CV.ee Head of Marketing, Karla Oder.

Middle-aged people work most on vacation 

Middle-aged employees aged 50-59 (29.1% of respondents) tend to work mostly on vacation, although employees aged 40-49 (24.8%) and 30-39 (19.9%) are not far behind. 15.3% of employees aged 60+ work on vacation, and only 9.6% of employees aged 20-29 do so. In the case of those under 19, a scant 1.3% of respondents want to work during their vacation.

The bottom line is clear: Whether we enjoy our work is not only influenced by our activities, but also by when we engage in those activities. If one needs to work during their vacation, one should try to mentally transform it into work time to maintain motivation. Employers can also support their employees by encouraging them not to work during their free time. Understanding how to stay motivated has always been important, but as the hectic job market forces many employees to work remotely and burdens them with additional time, taking time off is especially important to ensure that the employee and their team are working as productively as possible.