Taking holidays is seemingly becoming an afterthought with a growing number of British people, as they cram in as much as an extra week of unpaid work each year.
Travelodge, a UK based hotel company, has reported that one in ten British citizens are putting an extra week of unpaid labour into their work schedules, and with approximately one third of the British population working around 16 hours per week overtime, holidays are almost becoming a thing of past.
With the European economic downturn impacting on a volatile job market, the average worker in the UK is putting in 9.1 hours extra unpaid work every week to keep their bosses happy, resulting in around GBP5,276.18 in unpaid labour every year for those workers.
The study has also reported that 40 percent of workers have opted to regularly work at home in the evenings, while every third worker surveyed has put in extra hours at weekends to manage their existing workload.
Around 37 percent of these overworked Brits are regularly forsaking a long holiday for a series of one-night vacations, or ‘Nightcation’ breaks, according to the study.
Shakila Ahmed, a Travelodge spokesperson, said, ‘This year we have experienced a significant rise in just Saturday night bookings compared to previous years. To obtain a better understanding of the rationale behind this trend we commissioned research to investigate how the economic crisis is affecting the psychologies of British holidaymakers.
Our research findings have highlighted that Nightcation breaks are a growing trend amongst Britons as they are an easy to book, cost effective short break that help workaholic Britons recuperate and recharge for the week ahead.’