“Sorry, You’re Breaking Up…” 

Four in 10 Canadians said they would lie about connectivity to avoid checking in at work while on vacation

What do you do if your boss contacts you on vacation and asks you to check in on something for work? It seems nearly four in 10 Canadians would pull the old ‘you’re breaking up’ trick and lie about poor connectivity and reception at their destination in order to avoid doing it. 

According to an Ipsos study conducted for Allianz Global Assistance Canada, a leading provider of travel insurance and assistance services, 39 per cent of Canadians say they have lied or would consider lying about a lack of phone service or Wi-Fi as an excuse not to check in at work. Among Millennials, that number climbs to 52 per cent. 

Disconnecting from work while on vacation appears to be a conscious choice for Canadians according to the fourth annual Allianz Winter Vacation Confidence Index, with 65 per cent saying they don’t check work emails at all while on holiday. 

“The results show a potential trend of Canadians trying to disconnect more while on vacation,” says Dan Keon, Vice President, Market Management, Allianz Global Assistance Canada. “Our previous year’s survey revealed that only half of Canadians avoided checking work emails, so the 15-point increase this year is significant, particularly with women where 71 per cent said they cut the digital tie to work.” 

Of the 35 per cent who indicated that they do check work emails while holidaying, most (16%) cited the ability to catch-up when returning as their main reason for doing so, followed by feeling guilty for ignoring work or for being the only one who can handle certain tasks (both at 9%). Only four per cent reported that their bosses expected them to be online and just three per cent feared for their job if they did not check in. 

A similar survey conducted by Allianz in the U.S. showed a complete swap in habits with 65 per cent of Americans saying they do in fact check work emails on vacation. Millennials in the U.S. were the most likely to check at 74 per cent compared with only 47 per cent of Canadians. When it comes to the little white lie about not being connected while on holiday, Americans were a little more deceptive, with 49 per cent saying they would stretch the truth compared with 39 per cent of Canadians. 

“We also discovered that almost a quarter of Canadians said they either do not, or would not, go to a destination with limited phone service or Wi-Fi,” adds Keon. “This is probably due more to staying connected with friends and family, especially in the event of an emergency, rather than connecting with work.” 

The results of the Winter Vacation Confidence Index, conducted by Ipsos, are considered accurate within +/-2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. A vacation was defined as a leisure trip of at least one week outside the respondent’s home province.

Allianz Global Assistance (Canada)

For over 30 years, Allianz Global Assistance has supported travelling Canadians when they need it most with value-added travel insurance and assistance services. More than 800 employees support long-term partnerships with some of the best known brands in the travel and financial services markets. Allianz Global Assistance also serves as an outsource provider for in-bound call centre services and claims administration for health insurers, property and casualty insurers and credit card companies. Allianz Global Assistance is a specialist brand of Allianz Partners for assistance and travel insurance, and is a registered business name of AZGA Service Canada Inc. and AZGA Insurance Agency Canada Ltd. For more information, visit the Allianz Global Assistance Canadawebsite. 

Allianz Partners 

Dedicated to bringing global protection and care, Allianz Partners is the B2B2C leader in assistance and insurance solutions in the following areas of expertise: assistance, international health & life, automotive and travel insurance. These solutions, which are a unique combination of insurance, service and technology, are available to business partners or via direct and digital channels under four commercial brands: Allianz Assistance, Allianz Care, Allianz Automotive and Allianz Travel. 

This global family of over 19,000 employees is present in 78 countries, speaks 70 languages and handles 54 million cases per year, protecting customers and employees on all continents. For more information, visit the Allianz Partners website. 

Press Contact: 

Communications@allianz-assistance.ca