The Regus survey throws a spotlight on working behaviour during the holiday season with 61% of respondents reporting that they are required to be contactable all the time, and 40% stating they are expected to do some work when on holiday. Not surprisingly 27% felt that working on holiday has caused serious upset for family, friends or partners.

Key findings include:

56% of UK business people will work during the end of year festive period;

Two fifths of UK respondents working over the break (41%) will travel into the office to do so;

35% of UK respondents believe that workers will not get very little done in this work time;

Over half of British business people (53%) think that staff working over the holidays mostly tend to use this time to catch up on unfinished tasks;

In the UK, workers in small firms (60%) are more likely to work over the break than those in large businesses (46%);

59% of UK respondents intend to take more holiday in 2012.

Celia Donne, Regional Director, Regus, says “The holiday season is a special time for people to devote to their families and friends without neglecting their work duties. However our research suggests many people are not taking full advantage of the break and, if they are also travelling into the office to work, are unnecessarily squandering precious time with their loved ones. In the UK in particular, where icy roads and snow severely disrupted transport in 2010, workers choosing to go into the office over the holidays could face long and difficult commutes.

“Businesses are increasingly focused on how to achieve or improve the work/life balance they offer so that employees can spend time with their loved ones. Particularly workers making the effort to travel in to work with limited transport options and in some cases adverse weather conditions could benefit from using a work location closer to home, reducing time wasted in commuting and maximizing the time they can spend with their families during the break.”