Christmas holidays: 43 percent reachable for work

The willingness to be reachable for work during the Christmas holidays continues to decline in Germany. According to a current study by the digital association Bitkom, 43 percent of working people with Christmas holidays are still responding to work-related inquiries this year. A narrow majority of 54 percent are therefore switching off completely. The study is based on a representative survey of 1002 people aged 16 and over in Germany, including 532 working people.

Significant gender differences are noticeable: while 38 percent of working men on holiday respond to work-related inquiries, this figure is 48 percent for women. Overall, 71 percent of working people have holidays over the Christmas period.

Continuous decline since 2019

The long-term trend shows a clear development: before the Corona pandemic, 71 percent of working people were reachable during their Christmas holidays in 2019. In the first year of the pandemic, 2020, the figure dropped to 61 percent, and in the following years it stabilized at around half. Compared to 2024 with 50 percent, a further decline is now being recorded.

Written communication dominates the communication channels: 42 percent of working people read short messages such as SMS or WhatsApp during their Christmas holidays, and 40 percent check their work emails. 38 percent answer the phone despite being on holiday. Video calls are used significantly less frequently with 14 percent and messages in collaboration tools such as MS Teams or Slack with 12 percent.

Bitkom recommends clear agreements

"Holidays are meant for recovery – constant availability prevents that," comments Bitkom CEO Bernhard Rohleder on the results. Where it is really necessary, clear agreements help on who needs to be available when, so that the holidays remain relaxed and new energy can be gained.

Details on the survey results can be found in the press release from Bitkom.

(fo)