Work piles up for stressed out techies

Work is piling up for stressed out techies when they go on holiday, with no one picking up the slack when they are away, according to the latest silicon.com reader poll.

Everyone looks forward to their holiday and some dread going back to work - but techies have an especially good reason for dread as 62 per cent of poll respondents said their work is just left to build up while they're away in the sun.

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Just 12 per cent of the 160 poll respondents said they have someone else to do their work for them while they are on holiday.

Others simply find it hard to let go, with 11 per cent saying they want to be kept up-to-date with what's happening while they are on the beach.

A more organised four per cent say they prepare for their holiday by getting ahead at work.

Sadly, 11 per cent of over-worked techies simply answered "what holiday?", saying they get no break from work at all.

In a separate survey, conducted by online recruitment specialist TheITJobBoard.co.uk, nearly half of 500 IT workers said their hours had increased in the last two years.

Just under half (43 per cent) cited increases in the volume of their work as the main reason for working overtime. Only one in 10 of those who worked overtime were actually paid for it.

Of those surveyed, 27 per cent worked between 48 to 60 hours with five per cent working between 60 to 75 hours. Just over half (51 per cent) take their work home while 40 per cent felt their health had been affected by working longer hours.

A quarter said work overload caused relationship problems, whereas 52 per cent claimed they were unable to pursue hobbies and 43 per cent said they had no time for family or friends.

Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) believed their social life had been compromised and 41 per cent who said it resulted in no social life at all.