Many Employees Feel Compelled to Connect Outside of Work Hours

New York, NY - Over four in ten (42%) working adults feel compelled to check in with work even while on vacation, including one in eight (13%) who strongly agree with this statement, according to a new poll of over 2,000 adults who work full-time, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Randstad. Younger employees are more likely to feel this way than are those who are older; nearly half of those in the Millennial generation (born between 1982 and 1994) and those in Generation X feel this way (45%, respectively), compared to just over a third of Baby Boomers (36%).

At the same time, many have reservations about using their vacation time, as a quarter (26%) of employees report that they feel guilty using all of their allotted vacation days. Those who are most likely to report feeling such guilt include Millennials (40%), and to a lesser extent, those in Generation X (28%), compared to just 18% of Baby Boomers, and 8% of those in the Mature generation.

• Despite this sense of guilt, two-thirds (67%) report feeling more productive after they return from vacation, including one in five (21%) who strongly agree and close to half (46%) who somewhat agree.

Close to half (47%) of employees also report feeling guilty if they do not work, either on site or from home, when they are sick. Again, it's the younger generations who are more likely to have trouble disconnecting, as 54% of Millennials and 50% of Gen X feel guilty not working even when they are ill.

Many Feel Compelled to Check Email after Hours

The apparent difficulty in disconnecting from work life is also apparent in the extent to which employees feel obligated to respond to email after hours. Nearly half (45%) feel compelled to monitor their emails once their work day is over. Millennials (52%) and Gen X (47%) are more likely to feel this obligation than are Baby Boomers (39%).

Few Feel that Blurring of Home and Work Has Increased Their Productivity

Though many are finding it difficult to disconnect from work, just one-third (33%) of employees that the blurring of lines between work and home has increased their productivity, particularly Millennials (42% vs. 34% of those in Generation X, and 27% of Baby Boomers). In contrast, two-thirds of employees (67%) disagree that such blurring increases their productivity.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Randstad from April 1 - 8, 2014. For the survey, a national sample of 2,257 adults aged 18 and older who are currently employed full-time from Ipsos' U.S. online panel were interviewed online. Weighting was employed to balance demographics and to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the U.S. population of working adults according to U.S. Census Bureau data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of 2,257 and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of employed adults aged 18 and older in the United States been polled. The margin of error will be larger within sub-groupings of the survey population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release please contact:

Rebecca Sizelove Associate Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs 212.584.9253 [email protected]

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