Three-quarters of Londoners still check their work emails on holiday

The survey of 2,000 Brits, carried out by travel company Flash Pack, found that 80 per cent of people prefer to be contactable ‘just in case’ when they are away. Among Londoners alone the figure was 72 per cent.

Sixty-eight per cent said they have never managed to fully ‘digitally detox’ from work and 36 per cent avoid going somewhere that would prevent them from accessing emails.

And more than 60 per cent said that their pre-holiday handover was so stressful it would make them think twice about taking a break.

Psychologist Corinne Sweet said that the change in the work-holiday balance could be down to the amount of people who are now self-employed and suggested that there are ways to manage workload whilst still enjoying a break.

“Being out of touch with your contacts or business can actually raise your anxiety and blood pressure, ruining your holiday rather than making it relaxing,” she said.

“A better approach than a ‘digital detox’ is to decide (ahead of time) what you need to do to keep in touch.

“Make a daily checklist, and find a time to check in. Once your ‘to-do’ list is sorted, you can then decide to relax. Beware of furtively checking all day, as you’ll never switch-off and anxiety will increase.”

Half of Londoners in their thirties say checking-in with work is a deal-breaker.

Lee Thompson, Co-Founder of Flash Pack, said this makes sense “when you consider what a crucial age this is for many on the career front”.

“We used to run a ‘digital detox’ adventure to Finland – but so many people wanted to do the trip without giving up their phones that we had to ditch it.

“Eighty-five per cent of our customers now specifically enquire about access to Wi-Fi to enable them to check-in with work, prior to making a decision to book.”