A new survey has revealed why the traditional view of holidays as a chance to leave behind the woes of the office is wide of the mark for technology-obsessed UK workers.

A survey of 1,000 British adults, published by ElectricTobacconist.co.uk as part of the UK Gadget Usage Report 2017, revealed that as many as one in five plan to travel with at least five gadgets in their luggage, excluding smartphones.

Only nine per cent say that they intend to have a technology-free holiday and 'log-off' from everyday life.

Pascal Culverhouse, founder and CEO at ElectricTobacconist.co.uk, said: "These figures highlight how the growing use of technology calls for workers to assess how they utilise their holidays and make more effort to put down gadgets when they don't really need them.

"Using a lot of technology tends to stimulate the mind rather than calm it, meaning that a holiday spent in this way won't have the same positive benefits in terms of emotional health.

"Even though we are aware of the benefits of taking a full digital detox on the occasions when we get time out of the office to unwind, it seems we still can't switch off entirely and actually want to surround ourselves with more rather than less technology.

"Employees who are subject to high levels of stress yet are unable to rest when it's needed, risk affecting their wellbeing and productivity.

"It is important for businesses to highlight the importance of switching off and encourage employees to leave their work technology at home when going on holiday, turning off emails where possible, for the duration of their break."

Technology most commonly taken on holiday by UK adults, other than smartphones, are iPads or tablets (42 per cent of holidaymakers), while just under a quarter (23 per cent) take a laptop on holiday.

The survey also found that vaping devices are more increasingly being regarded as a holiday essential, being taken on holiday by 8.3 per cent of travellers.

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