A fifth of holidays are booked in the workplace

By Daniel Hunter

Research by a leading online independent travel agency has revealed that a fifth of all holidays abroad are booked in the workplace on the company’s time; with employees taking advantage of their internet access for tasks other than working.

Many employees around the UK use their working hours for tasks other than what they were intended for, as new research by an online independent travel agency in the UK has revealed that a fifth of all holidays abroad are booked in the workplace, rather than at home in the traveller’s own time.

www.sunshine.co.uk carried out the poll after noting an increase in holiday bookings between 9am and 5pm on weekdays, when most people are typically at work. The site polled a total of 2,107 UK adults, each of whom had been on holiday abroad in the past 6 months and who had been responsible for the booking. Respondents were asked about their whereabouts when booking and their methods.

First of all, respondents were asked where they were when they had booked their last holiday abroad. According to the study, the most common places were as follows:

- At home — 42%
- At work (on company time) — 21%
- At a friend’s/relative’s — 17%
- On the move — 11%
- In a travel agency — 4%

Respondents were also given the option of selecting ‘other’ and, of these, 12% said they booked their last holiday at work, but not on company time. Those who said that they had booked their last holiday at work on company time were asked how long they had spent doing so, to which the average answer was ‘2 hours’ in total.

When asked if their boss had been aware that they’d been booking a holiday at work, just 4% of these respondents said ‘yes’.

“We’ve always wondered if the bookings we receive in what would typically be working hours were made by people at home or those at work who were supposed to be doing what they were paid for," Chris Clarkson, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, said.

“To see that a fifth of holidays are booked in the workplace was a big surprise. Clearly, employees in the UK are taking liberties when it comes to their working hours and the access they have to the internet. My advice is to always book holidays in your own time, or else your boss might not let you go!”

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