New research shows constant email notifications are causing us stress, even when we're on holiday.
Getting push notifications of emails means we never really leave work behind, and it could be interfering with our work/life balance.
We should be having fun in the sun, but instead our phones keep bringing us back to work. Stress experts say it's damaging to our health.
"If you're on holiday but you're thinking about work, you're not relaxing, you're not on holiday," says Cynthia Johnson of Challenge of Change. "And if it's a list of things [you've] got to do, you're actually stressing yourself out."
Research by UK-based Future Work Centre found people who receive automatic notifications of emails report higher levels of email pressure, as well as those who check them early in the morning or late at night.
Seventy percent of us own a smartphone, making us more accessible than ever.
"What it means is you can work anywhere from any place you are, regardless of whether you're on holiday or not, and sometimes people do take it too far and people end up working all holiday long," says Paul Brislen of Brislen Communications.
The research also found people who reported higher levels of email pressure also experienced greater interference between work and home.
Ms Johnson says if you have to check your emails there are ways to reduce the stress.
"Develop some disciplines about when your device is going to be on, so half an hour in the morning, half an hour at lunchtime and half an hour in the afternoon, or whenever you think is appropriate."
Or, if you can, switch it off altogether.
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