Relaxing in the sun can stop workers burning out at work

A poll of 5,000 workers for recruitment website Reed.co.uk showed that 60% were too busy to take all their annual leave.

And those who were going away were putting in extra hours to finish their workload before they left the office for a summer break.

One in five said they suffered from stress because of the extra work they were putting in.

HOLIDAY FEARS Only 40% will take full holiday entitlement 50% worry about work while away 20% suffer stress because of over-work in the run-up to a holiday 10% feared being made redundant while away Source: Reed.co.uk

The Reed website found workers were putting in an average extra nine hours in the days before taking a holiday, rising to 17 hours for directors.

One female computer specialist from the north east told the website: "I had to work an extra 80 hours to complete a project arranged after I booked my holiday."

One manager from the south east told researchers he had to cancel a family holiday the night before they were due to fly out because of work commitments.

Temperatures rising

Dan Ferrandino, managing director of Reed.co.uk, said: "At this time of year temperatures are often as high inside the office as they are outside, as workers frantically try to make sure everything is fine before they leave for their holidays.

Cancelling your holiday because the stress at work has become too much is certainly not the answer Dan Ferrandino, Reed

"Cancelling your holiday because the stress at work has become too much is certainly not the answer - the best cure is a week or two relaxing in the sun."

Earlier this year a survey of 1,000 workers found the average employee was losing out on more than three months of holiday over their working lives.

Many blamed the pressure of work for not taking time off.

Almost a third of those polled said they would like to be allowed to trade in some of their holidays for other benefits, such as a car allowance or membership of a gym.

Workers in their forties were most likely not to take up their full holiday entitlement.