The traditional fortnight’s summer holiday is on the decline as a new survey finds that more and more workers are taking short breaks instead.
A poll of 6,500 people by website reed.co.uk has found that three-quarters of people are more likely to take a short break than five years ago.
A third said they would take three short breaks this year, while a quarter said they would have four short holidays.
A useful by-product of this change in attitude towards holidays seems to be improved productivity. Two-thirds of those surveyed said that shorter breaks lead to higher productivity compared with traditional two-week holidays while most people think that short breaks also make the return to work less stressful because they are not faced with big back-logs of work on their return.
"Short holidays mean that things can generally wait until you get back" said one respondent. Another said "there is less work to catch up on and fewer mistakes to correct caused by those people who have attempted to cover for you".
Reed.co.uk's Martin Warnes said: "The UK appears to be undergoing a shift in attitudes towards holidays. While factors like the increase of cheap flights and last minute deals play their part, it seems many people also find that short breaks cut down workplace stress."