Working during the holidays? You’re not alone [Infographic]

The holidays are here, and while it’s definitely the season for packing on a little extra weight and kicking back with family and friends, some of us are prioritizing instead. Sure, some of you might be out visiting the ones you love or helping prep the turkey for the coming feast, but the rest of us are doing exactly what I’ll be doing during the festivities: Working.

Yes, it sounds a little unnecessary and almost cruel — who would want to work during Thanksgiving when they can be stuffing their face full of turkey, right? — but I certainly don’t see it that way.

In fact, I count myself among the 19% of people who feel thankful or relieved by the pleasant distraction of work emails during the holidays. At least this way, I can go from scarfing down pumpkin pie to taking a break from the madness of my stereotypically loud and obnoxious family for a little responsibility-having. This doesn’t compare, of course, to the 41% of people who are annoyed, frustrated or resentful when their laptops or mobile phones go off with several email notifications.

For others, while the idea of work emails brings them back to the sad reality that they’re forced to labor in order to survive, I am, instead, content. My fellow young working adults might glare at me in irritation — employees aged 18 to 34 make up 41% of the people who feel negative about working over the holidays, after all — but what can I say? I have the best job in the world and I love what I do. If I didn’t, I’m sure I’d be singing a different tune.

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Until the day I suddenly hate sharing social media news and blabbing about technology, however, I’ll continue to include myself with the 10% of respondents ages 18 to 44 stating that they check their emails during holiday parties/gatherings because it eases their workload once they return from break. Or even the, ahem, 6% of people using emails as an excuse to avoid awkward commitments with family and friends. Love you, Mom.

This isn’t just a chunk of random data, of course. Xobni, a company billing itself as the leader in email and contact management, today announced the results from a November online survey conducted on its behalf by Harris Interactive among 2,800 adults. This sampling of employed American adults with work emails might not equal the majority, of course, but such is the way of surveys, eh? Take a peek at the rest of the findings below.