Are You Checking Email on Vacation?

(TNS)—How does the U.S. stack up when it comes to taking vacation time?

As vacation spending in the U.S. surpasses $1 billion, people are definitely getting away more—but what is the quality of that vacation actually looking like?

An Ipsos Global poll looked at the way the world vacations and found that more and more people are spending time away from home, but fewer are fully disconnecting while gone.

Six in 10 respondents in the 25 countries surveyed said they have spent or would spend at least one full week away from work.

The three countries where the most people take a vacation away from home are India (80 percent), Great Britain (72 percent) and China (70 percent). There were just three countries where a majority said they would not be taking time away from work and home life: Hungary, South Korea and Japan.

In the U.S., 61 percent said they would likely spend a week or more on vacation.

Across all countries, 65 percent of travelers said they use all of the vacation time that they are given; however, this number has fallen over the past decade, declining the most in China, Japan, Italy and Australia.

While people are taking more time away from home, that doesn’t mean they are disconnecting. Less than half of respondents say they don’t check work emails when on vacation. This was slightly better in the U.S., where 52 percent say they don’t check their emails while away.

Since 2009, the number of those who check work messages increased across almost all countries surveyed.

Where are people staying the most connected? Vacationers in Italy, Japan, Spain and Belgium can’t seem to put their phones and laptops away while they are away. There are just two countries where the number of people staying in touch with work has decreased: Mexico and Brazil.

Overall, a strong majority of Americans have or plan to take time off this year. What we really need to work on is putting the phone down when we do.

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