• Employees spend 29 minutes a week planning holidays at work, wasting over three working days every year
• Millennials are the most likely to plan trips on the job, with three quarters (74%) actively doing so
• British workers spend half as long looking at holidays compared to their Australian counterparts (57 minutes per week)

25 July, 2018, LONDON –

Over half (58%) of British employees plan their holidays during work hours every week, according to a new study from personal finance comparison site finder.com.

The average employee spends 29 minutes planning getaways every week, meaning they waste more than three working days a year holiday shopping. Over a million Brits end up looking at potential trips for more than three hours each week.

On a national scale, this is costing UK businesses £180 million in wages per week or £9.3 billion annually, with 125 million working days lost on holiday planning.

Millennials are the most guilty when it comes to researching trips at work, with almost three in four (74%) doing so every week. In contrast, only four in 10 (40%) baby boomers and over half of Gen X workers (57%) get sidetracked.

When it comes to gender, male employees are more likely to get holiday distraction – 63% regularly check out potential trips compared to 52% of females. Men also spend 33 minutes browsing every week as opposed to 26 minutes for women, on average.

Interestingly, while Australians are generally blessed with an enviable climate compared with the UK’s, additional research from finder.com found that Aussies are more likely to plan holidays at work (64% v 58%) and spend almost as twice as long (57 minutes in total) doing so.

London is the UK region that’s most distracted by potential holidays, losing 39 minutes every week, perhaps due to the number of airports serving the city. This is followed by 34 minutes in the West Midlands, while East Anglians lose the smallest amount of time at just 21 minutes per week. Scottish workers are the least likely to be distracted by holiday planning with almost half (46%) never browsing in the office.

To see an interactive map of who spends the most and least time researching holidays at work, plus advice on how to plan holidays efficiently, visit: www.finder.com/uk/holiday-planning-work-hours

Commenting on the research, Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com, said: ‘‘It’s not surprising that Brits are distracted by holiday planning while at work, especially during the current heatwave. We’re also bombarded with beautiful holiday instagram posts everyday, which doesn’t help. No one wants to spend ages planning a holiday though; not to mention your employer. If you want the process to be more hassle-free, then there are simple steps you can take to get the best deal for the perfect holiday.”

Tips for holiday planning:

• Set sale alerts for the routes you’re considering so you won’t miss out on the best flight prices

• Be flexible with your dates – peak times differ for different destinations so it’s worth being open to taking your holiday at a different time of year if you can

• Sign up for mailing lists such as Jack’s Flight Club or travelzoo, who do the deal searching for you

• Consider taking a holiday to an unknown destination with Srprs.Me. Book a date and a budget and turn up at the airport – they’ll do the rest.