Holidays A Work Free Zone? Not For Most Of Us

Australians remain attached to their phones and work email even while away on holiday, The 2014 Mobile Index commissioned by Expedia and Egencia found.

According to the study, three out of four Australians continue using their smartphones, tablets and laptops during their time off.

Furthermore, 74% of Australians were found to use the same device for both work and personal purposes. The fact that work related calls and emails are being streamed to the same devices being used for personal purposes such as entertainment and managing holiday itineraries, makes switching off from work increasingly difficult.

“The increased mobility and connectedness offered by smartphones and other devices is hugely beneficial for businesses, but this also means the lines between work and personal have been blurred,” said Robbie Adams, Mobilyser founder.

The Expedia study also found that 73% of Australians that have a work paid device take it on holidays, which is far above the global average of 63%. In fact, Australia as a country ranks third in the world for the number of people who continue to work while on holidays.

Expedia Australia and New Zealand managing director, Georg Ruebensal, says, “Australians struggle a lot in comparison to our global counterparts when it comes to blocking out work on a holiday.”

Some experts suggest that the only way to properly relax whilst on holiday is to turn all devices off completely. However, as most people use the same device for work and personal uses, ignoring work has become virtually impossible.

For the majority of Australians unable to turn devices off and ignore work related calls and emails during holidays, it’s important to ensure these work hours and expenses can be accounted for.

Using an app such as Mobilyser, which calculates your claimable total on calls, data and SMS in an easy-to-read report ensures the hours and costs accrued whilst working on holidays aren’t overlooked.

The ability to track calls and data usage as work or personal means individuals can then present this data to their employer to potentially discuss remuneration if the device is not paid for by work or present it to an accountant or tax agent to make the appropriate claims.

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