8 Questions: Summer holidays

The summer holiday season is once again upon us. We thought we needed a break from the norm and all this Brexit business, so this month’s 8 Questions are about summer holidays. 509 responded.

1. Will you be taking, or have you taken, a holiday lasting longer than seven days this summer?

Engineers need time to unwind and don’t mind taking their time doing it. Most opt for the longest time possible to make the stress of a gap in work time worthwhile.

2. Will you be going, or have you already gone, abroad for your main summer holiday this year?

Although PE readers are not immune to the charms of holidaying in the UK, the most
common destinations are outside the British Isles when it comes to the main vacation.

3. Does your office or business shut down completely for a period over the summer?

Only a handful of workplaces close the doors completely during summer. But there are not many places where leaving the office means leaving work behind any more anyway.

4. Have the recent changes in the pound’s exchange rate caused you to alter your holiday plans?

The value of the pound has plunged after the referendum vote, but the drop was probably too late to change this summer’s holiday plans. Most PE readers based outside the UK are paid in alternative currencies and are enjoying having more to spend when they come home, so there’s always an upside.

5. Do you check your work emails while on holiday?

A carefully weighted decision, this – are you truly on holiday if you are checking your email? Are you better off managing the inbox while away to avoid a deluge upon your return? More prefer to escape completely, but only just.

6. Are you willing to let work colleagues contact you by phone while on holiday?

Again, a close result for this issue – a slim minority choosing the bliss that only complete ignorance of work can provide.

7. Do you incorporate a visit to an ‘engineering attraction’, such as aviation or car museums, or notable buildings or bridges, as part of your holiday?

Proof, if it were ever needed, that you can take the engineer out of work, but you can’t take the engineering out of the engineer. ‘Opportunistic’ sightseeing is a trend here. You are, of course, never too far from engineering. 

8. Do you use up all your annual holiday entitlement by the end of the year?

The ultimate workaholic’s vice, accumulation of leave entitlement, is not something that PE readers engage in – perhaps recognising the value of downtime to the creative process. However, a hardcore few are too vital to their businesses to take all their time off, and to them we should dip our sombreros.