I'm 35, been working since I was 21, but still get a little (sometimes more) anxious each morning when coming to work and thinking that I have to open my email.
> 5/10 minutes of email's in the morning means Europeans have a better work/life balance ?
It's not "5/10" minutes. It's one or two hours before the fact, thinking "should I check my email? no, I'm sure everything is ok back at work", then another 2 or 3 hours after you actually checked your email, thinking at what you have just read and possibly replied. So, there goes half of your vacation day thinking and stressing about work.
Shorter vacations spoil this. Emailing or talking on the phone while on vacation spoils this.
Quick question: Have you ever taken three consecutive weeks off work?
I dont understand why everyone is so caught up with answering emails on vacation. Yes - it's not ideal, but as long as your not expected to be on your phone all day, and in my experience, you are not unless you own your own business, are a doctor, etc. then what is the big deal? 5/10 minutes of email's in the morning means Europeans have a better work/life balance ?
If you work for a small company they might need you to be available because you are an integral part of the operation. Id be surprised you are expected to answer emails on vacation if you currently work large company in the US where you are 1 of N team members where N > 50.