PDA - new British holiday favourite. (Internet News).

A survey has shown that close to three-quarters of people (73%) have accessed their work email account or corporate network while they were on holiday. Of those people, 60% had checked their work emails 2 or 3 times while they were supposed to be sunning themselves, and 11% said they logged-on every day while they were on holiday.

The survey also indicates that the holiday of the future may take on a whole different meaning with close to 60% of respondents admitting that if they were able to access their emails on the beach they could!

The study--conducted by the organisers of Enterprise Wireless Technology 2002, surveyed 281 UK business people in a bid to understand how the proliferation of new mobile and wireless technology is affecting people's lifestyles.

The survey shows that these vacation working habits can also be the cause of numerous holiday headaches, with half of those who've accessed corporate networks or email whilst on holiday saying this has caused problems or tensions with their holiday companions. Over half of those surveyed (54%) have taken a PDA or other handheld device away with them on holiday, and 52% have even taken their laptop. Whilst 92% of those surveyed take their mobile phones with them on vacation. Almost 20% of respondents felt frustrated at having to work while they were on holiday. But almost half (46%) said being able to connect remotely to their corporate network gave them peace of mind while they were away, and 40% said it also made them feel more relaxed when they got back to work.

The survey reveals that wireless technology is not just changing the way we work but the way we play as well. Being able to work remotely or whilst on the move has meant that 38% of respondents estimate they have up to 5 hours more leisure time a week. Remote and mobile working has also led to other fundamental shifts in working patterns--60% of people said they now work more from home, 38% say they work more on the move, 14% work more on holiday than they ever did before, and 45% find themselves increasingly working outside of regular office hours.

With new mobile and wireless innovations being developed all the time, work and leisure patterns look set for further change. Just over a fifth of respondents (21%) say in the future it is likely they will work more while they are on holiday due to the greater connectivity options offered by new technologies such as public access wireless LANS, GPRS and 3G. The underlying trend is that the user has more control over workflow, creating the power to organise and execute functions as and when they see fit.'

The internet-based survey was conducted with 281 people, principally from large corporates (42% from companies employing over 500 people), with job functions ranging from IT/Telecoms management (43%) to Sales/Marketing/Business Development (21%) to General Management (10%).

The survey also highlighted that the relatively new phenomenon of picture messaging looks set to take off with three-quarters of those surveyed saying they would like to be able to take a picture on holiday and send it instantly to friends and family at home.

www.enterprisewireless.co.uk