Most Workers Won't Escape Jobs During Vacation, CareerBuilder Survey Reveals
Money, Insufficient Time to Unwind Top Vacation Concerns
CHICAGO, May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Welcome to vacation paradise. Blue skies,
fine foods and -- a must for every summer getaway in the 21st century -- a
place to recharge always-working laptops and cell phones. Just over half of
workers say they will stay connected with work while on vacation this year,
according to a new CareerBuilder survey, Vacation from Work 2002.
CareerBuilder, the industry's most complete online source for efficiently
finding better candidates and jobs, found that 51 percent of vacationing
workers plan to stay in contact with work in 2002, up 11 percent from a year
ago.
"Working vacations are now the norm," said Barry Lawrence, a senior career
advisor at CareerBuilder. "Today, workers not only have to juggle work and
life choices, they also have to juggle work time and vacation time. Those who
go on vacation without a plan will find that vacations are a source of more,
not less stress in the 24/7 world we now live in."
While 51 percent will make contact with work at least once during
vacation, 20 percent will maintain daily contact. Also, according to the
CareerBuilder survey of 1,300 respondents, 26 percent of workers say,
"employers typically expect them to stay in contact with work while on
vacation." When connecting to jobs while on vacation, workers are most likely
to bring cell phones or pagers (22 percent), check e-mail (15 percent) or dial
up voice mail (13 percent).
Vacation Worries
Four-in-ten workers indicated that they plan to spend the same amount of
money on their vacation as they did last year. However, not having enough
money is the primary vacation worry (27 percent) of the workers surveyed.
Other worries: insufficient time to unwind (15 percent), bad weather
(14 percent), unforeseen problems at work (12 percent) and unforeseen problems
at home (11 percent).
Plan for Vacation
To get the most out of vacation time from work, Lawrence urges:
* Giving plenty of notice about vacation dates.
* Planning ahead with key team members to determine responsibilities while you are gone.
* Establishing procedures that will allow for work and projects to progress without your intervention.
* Practicing self-discipline: do not get involved in situations at work unless it is absolutely necessary. Stay focused on your vacation rather than the situation at work.
* Leaving an emergency contact number if your job is mission critical.
About The Survey
The new CareerBuilder survey, Vacation from Work 2002, was conducted in
May and included more than 1,300 respondents. To collect data for The Survey,
CareerBuilder commissioned SurveySite to use an e-mail methodology whereby
individuals who are members of a SurveySite Web Panel were randomly selected
and approached by e-mail invitation to participate in the online survey.
About CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder is a leading online source for maximizing recruitment
dollars and optimizing job searches with superior products, customer service
and technology. With a unique combination of national, local and niche
audiences, CareerBuilder makes it easy for recruiters to reach the most
qualified candidates with industry-leading market research data and support.
Job seekers can search for the right job from more than 300,000 continuously
updated postings, representing more than 25,000 of the top employers in
virtually every industry, field and location. In partnership with Tribune
Company (NYSE: TRB) and Knight-Ridder Inc. (NYSE: KRI), CareerBuilder includes
the Web's top newspaper sites -- the most trusted employment sources in
recruiting. For more information About CareerBuilder products and services,
call 888-670-TEAM or visit CareerBuilder at http://www.careerbuilder.com .
CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:
Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com
