Taking a laptop on holiday bad for the family, expert says

Thu Aug 14, 2008
Do you take a laptop on vacation? I'm guilty, and according to a top psychologist in the UK, employees who take their laptops with them on holiday are stupid and risk family breakdowns. Professor Cary Cooper, a workplace health expert at the Lancaster University in the UK, says his research shows workers are afraid to go 'off radar' during their vacation because they don't want to miss any important emails.

Sounds familiar? It should. Recent polls have shown that one in five people pack their laptop along with their swimsuit, and worst yet, they work and check email while on vacation. If Professor Cooper is right, those mixing work with play are costing the economy millions of dollars because never switching off leads to increased absence, labor turnover, and it affects relationships with family and friends.

But is calling people who take their laptops on vacation "stupid" a little too extreme? Probably. Even if people leave their laptops at home, it's impossible not to check email from your smartphone while on vacation. I think the key here is having some control, so the next time you're away with family or friends, resist the temptation of checking email in front of them or surf the Web when you could be out spending some quality time with the kids.