According to a recent survey from Jive Software and Harris Interactive, 91 percent of U.S., U.K. and Australian employees complete work tasks on time off. This includes any time that does not officially fall under working hours. In fact, 29 percent of U.S. workers spend more than ten hours a week working on their time off. Half of American workers will complete workplace tasks on vacation as well.
This is a matter of importance to human resources administration professionals. Retention and employee satisfaction may be impacted negatively by this habit, or by the perception that it is necessary. Inefficient workplace practices may in part be to blame for the overwhelming majority of workers believing they must complete certain tasks after work is over.
If the circumstances make it appropriate, it can be useful to outsource specific business functions. Overworked employees may not really need to take care of every task assigned to them in the workday – it may be that an outside company could complete them just as well. If the work is of a seasonal nature and a higher volume is simply unavoidable, a company may consider hiring temporary workers to help ease the stress on its staff.