The Guilt Trap: Why Brits Struggle to Fully Disconnect When Out of Office

We know that taking time off work allows us some much needed R&R, but as a nation we have a problem: we can’t stop feeling guilty about it.

Statistics show that work burnout is very real, with a report by Mental Health UK revealing how one in five working adults have had to take time off in the past year due to poor mental health caused by pressure or stress. Even when we set our OOO and ‘switch off’, we’re not really switched off. Not in the way we need to be.

While there may be plans to give Brits the ‘right to disconnect’ (as is law in some countries, preventing employers from contacting their staff after hours), that time is not now.

We’ve done some digging and the stats aren’t pretty. Not only do we feel guilty taking a break, many of us are also cancelling or postponing our days off due to work responsibilities.

Here we share our findings from a survey of 1,000 full-time UK employees.

Only One in Five Brits Take Their Full Leave Entitlement

A not-so-fun fact: only 24% of UK employees claim they take all of their annual leave each year, so if you’re someone who does, you’re in the minority.

Looking at the statistics more closely, four in ten Brits (41%) forgo more than five days of holiday each year – that’s a full week!

Younger workers aged between 18 and 24 are more likely to sacrifice their well-deserved time off, often prioritising work commitments over taking a break. The same applies to those who work fully remote, as opposed to in-office full-time.

We’ve done the maths here, and have worked out that this equates to £6.6 billion worth of annual leave going unused!¹

Why Are We Letting Holidays Go To Waste?

The reasons many employees are letting holidays go to waste are fairly evenly spread, with no single factor standing out.

With respondents able to select up to three reasons, here are the main answers given:

1. Accumulating leave – saving days for a future holiday
2. Personal choice – didn’t feel the need for a break
3. Heavy workload or project deadlines – too busy to take time off
4. Staff shortages – couldn’t take time off without impacting the team
5. Lack of planning – forgot or didn’t plan time off in advance

It is interesting to see ‘personal choice’ as the second biggest reason for unused leave – more so among those who work remotely vs in-office. Does this show contentment, with employees enjoying a good work-life balance, or is it a recipe for burnout? 

Delving deeper, personal choice may be linked to ‘work ethic’, which 24% of Brits say is the main reason they feel guilty for taking time off. In our survey, undertaken by Censuswide, work ethic refers to ‘a strong belief in the importance of hard work and dedication’.

Although not within the top five, ‘feelings of guilt’ is a key reason for one in ten (12%) employees not taking as much holiday as they’d like, driven by worry that colleagues might struggle without them.

The same percentage of respondents say they prefer to sell holidays back to their company, with one-third of full-time workers having this option available to them. By the end of 2024, 23% will have sold at least five days back; this equates to Brits reselling £3.7 billion worth of annual leave each year.²

A Quarter of Brits ‘Always’ or ‘Often’ Feel Guilty When Taking Time Off

The statistics are 50/50 when it comes to those who feel guilty taking time off, and those who don’t.

Remote workers are more wracked with guilt than in-office workers, with 34% of 

‘WFH’ employees saying they ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel guilty when taking annual leave, especially if it is for more than one day at a time. This is 12% higher than those who work in-office.

Guilt could be part of the reason 18% of Brits haven’t taken a day off in more than four months, and 23% haven’t had a week off in over six months.

Here are the main reasons why we feel apprehensive when putting in that holiday request:

1. High workload – feel there’s too much work to justify time off
2. Short-staffed team – worry about straining already limited resources
3. Impact on colleagues – concerned about giving the team extra work
4. Work ethic – a strong belief in the importance of hard work and dedication
5. Fear of falling behind – worried about tasks piling up

Looking at gender differences, women are more likely to worry about being short-staffed, and the impact on colleagues, while men are more likely to feel they’ve got too much on to afford time off.

Any of the above could explain why 17% of UK workers don’t feel ‘comfortable’ taking more than one to two days off at a time, and 45% would feel uneasy enjoying more than a week break.

Looking at that by work type, over half (53%) of remote workers wouldn’t feel comfortable taking over a week off. That figure is 41% for in-office employees.

We also asked respondents what changes, if any, would make them feel more comfortable taking their full entitlement. A large portion of answers related to either having a healthier company approach to annual leave, or feeling like there’s enough cover in place.

Here is one worker’s answer, which summed up the views of many:

“Knowing that my workload would be managed effectively in my absence and that there would be minimal backlog upon my return would make me feel more comfortable taking my full annual leave. Additionally, clear support from management in encouraging full use of leave time would help”

We’re Prioritising Work Over Time Off

Our heavy workloads – and the guilt of taking time off despite them – are stopping us from using our full annual leave.

Half of us (51%) have either cancelled or postponed leave due to work responsibilities – and 21% say they would do this if they had to. Again, this is far more common among those who WFH (61%) compared to in-office (43%).

But the problem doesn’t end there. Over a quarter of us will ‘always’ or ‘often’ work extra time to make up for annual leave (29%)! And a similar amount say they feel pressured to be available when on leave. We can’t seem to win, can we?

Disconnecting Early is Key to a Guilt-free Break, Says Expert

When we go on a break, we want to return to work feeling refreshed. Can we realistically do that when so many of us ‘always’ or ‘often’ think about work tasks when we’re away (31%)?

Ruth Kudzi is a psychology and neuroscience expert, and has written a global best-selling book called ‘How to Feel Better’, offering steps to self-coach your way to a happier, more authentic life.

Here she offers tips on how to disconnect early from work, so that we can fully switch off (and enjoy a much needed mental rest too).

1. It sounds obvious, but the first step to switching off is to create boundaries with colleagues. Make clear handover documents and go through these with anyone you need to, ensuring there are no loose ends you will be chased for.

2. Create a physical as well as a mental cut off from work so you feel different as you step into holiday mode. At the end of your working day/last day before holiday, consider how to change state. What can you do to draw a line under your day, or working week, and mark the fact that this is the beginning of your break? This might be as simple as changing your clothes, getting your comfy clothes on, or something from your holiday wardrobe. If you have clear work/non-work clothes, make sure work clothes are out of sight. Also pack away things like work bags, documents, laptops etc, so they are out of sight and out of mind.

3. Have a shower or bath to mark the end of work, and the start of your break. Make an effort to be present, feeling the water on your body, and being mindful, thinking about all the things you’re looking forward to about your holiday.

4. Get out in nature and take some time not to be in a rush. Help your brain understand that you have switched off from ‘being on’ and you are now in relaxation mode; this will reduce your levels of cortisol and adrenaline and help you get out of a threat state. If this feels like a treat that you don’t usually have time for, it will help to release dopamine, which makes you feel good.

5. Have a before bed routine that helps you calm your nervous system and get into a more relaxed state. This could include journaling, reading, meditation, or yoga – anything which is a slower activity to help reduce cortisol.

6. Change the perceptual position of how you feel about work. Rather than thinking you’re the only one who can solve things, remind yourself that there are other people who can do that and reflect on how you can reduce the feelings of pressure/responsibility. 

Free Coffees and Gym Memberships Aren’t Helping Employees to Switch Off

In a study by Open Study College, 60% of workers said perks were make or break when accepting a new job. But are free coffees and gym memberships really what employees want, or should businesses be offering more meaningful perks?

According to recent research by Marriott International, 42% of travellers plan to go on more holidays in 2025 vs 2024, with ‘getting a special price’ the main element that’ll entice travellers to commit to a booking.

Businesses can facilitate this desire for adventure, and encourage employees to take time off, by tapping into this wanderlust.

We help companies to do just that, by providing their teams with the freedom to craft their perfect trip, book flights and hotels, and make the most of their annual leave.

With over two million places to stay and 140+ airlines to choose from, we feel this is a valuable perk employees will actually use, operating on a monthly subscription basis with employers contributing to individual travel funds which can then be used for bookings.

To find out more, request a live demo to see Offwork in action: https://offwork.com/request-a-demo.

Methodology

Using Censuswide, we carried out a survey of 1,000 full-time UK workers in November 2024.

¹ The £6.6 billion was derived from calculating 41% of 24.9 million full-time UK workers. We then calculated the average weekly wage a worker would receive, based on seven hours a day, using £18.74 as the median hourly earning (excluding overtime).

² The £3.7 billion was derived from the same calculation, based on 23% of 24.9 full-time UK workers.