熱門時事分享：休假焦慮症｜為何我們害怕休假？工作狂文化還是自我價值綁定？｜20260804
目錄
2026 年 08 月 04 日｜HOT 用英文聊時事｜S1 EP38
歡迎收聽《HOT 用英文聊時事》，今天我們要聊一個讓現代人非常有感的話題：明明人在放假，心卻離不開公務。進入 2026 年，全球多國已立法保障員工在下班或度假時，有權徹底切斷與公司的聯繫，確保我們能合法地不讀不回訊息，且不用擔心被處分。這項政策本是為了提升生活品質，但現實卻很矛盾。根據國際知名人才招募顧問公司 Robert Walters 的調查，仍有 51% 的英國上班族在度假時會偷偷收信，只為了減輕收假後堆積如山的工作量。這種人在海邊、心在筆電前的狀態，讓假期變成了換個地方焦慮，這就是現代職場普遍的休假焦慮症。(參考來源：Robert Walters)
Welcome to “Hot English Topics.” Today, we’re going to talk about a topic that really hits home for many people today: being on vacation, but still unable to let go of work. Entering 2026, many countries around the world have already made laws to protect employees, giving them the right to fully disconnect from their companies after work or on vacation, so that we can legally leave messages unread and unanswered, without worrying about punishment. This policy was meant to improve our quality of life, but in real life, it feels very contradictory. According to a survey by the internationally well-known recruitment consulting company Robert Walters, 51% of office workers in the UK still secretly check their emails during vacations, just to reduce the heavy workload waiting for them when they return. Being at the beach but with the mind on a laptop turns vacations into anxiety in another place, and this is the common vacation anxiety in the modern workplace.
到底為什麼我們擁有了法律保障，心裡還是放不下呢？美國心理學會的文章提到，許多高成就者會養成把自我價值感跟今天完成了多少工作死死綁在一起的習慣，這被稱為表現導向的自尊。簡單來說，你覺得只有在不斷衝刺、達成目標時，自己才是一個夠好的人。當這種用表現換取肯定的想法變成生活重心，大腦就會把休息看成一種威脅，甚至覺得沒在產出就是一種退步。如果你覺得今天做得不夠多就跑去放假，心裡就會湧上罪惡感，彷彿暫停工作就等於承認自己沒價值，這就是毒性生產力在背後操縱著我們的心態。(參考來源：American Psychological Association)
So why is it that even when we have legal protection, we still cannot let go of our minds? An article from the American Psychological Association notes that many high achievers develop a habit of tying their self-worth to how much they get done each day. This is called performance-based self-esteem. Simply put, you may feel you’re only “good enough” when you’re constantly achieving and hitting goals. When this idea of trading performance for approval becomes the center of life, the brain starts to see rest as a threat, and even feels that not producing means falling behind. If you feel you did not do enough today, but still go on vacation, guilt will rise in your mind, as if stopping work means admitting that you have no value. This is how toxic productivity controls our mindset from behind.
而且，這種無法切換模式的心理狀態，對大腦的傷害比我們想像中還要大。從科學的角度來看，大腦就像是一塊土地，如果不定期休耕，養分終究會被榨乾。研究指出，當我們處於無所事事的空檔，大腦反而會自動開啟一種整理模式。這段時間就像是大腦的後台在悄悄運作，幫我們把雜亂的資訊重新組合，這在心理學上稱為孵化效應，它就像是在醞釀靈感的過程，讓潛意識去處理那些意識層面解決不了的難題。這也是為什麼許多苦思不得其解的創意或解法，往往會在洗澡、散步等放空時刻突然冒出來。如果連休假都在焦慮工作，大腦就無法啟動這層深度修補功能，這不僅會導致失眠與職業倦怠，更會讓我們在回歸工作後，因為腦袋過度疲勞，反而變得平庸且缺乏判斷力。長期忽視大腦的休息需求，就像是讓精密機器過熱運轉，最後終究會面臨效能崩潰的風險。(參考來源：Frontiers in Human Neuroscience、ResearchGate)
Moreover, being stuck in this state—unable to switch gears—can take a much bigger toll on the brain than we realize. From a scientific point of view, the brain is like a piece of land, and if it is not left to rest regularly, its nutrients will eventually be used up. Research shows that when we are doing nothing, the brain actually turns on an automatic organizing mode. This time is like the brain working quietly in the background, helping us reorganize messy information. In psychology, this is called the incubation effect. It is like a process of brewing ideas, allowing the subconscious mind to deal with problems that the conscious mind cannot solve. This is why many creative ideas or solutions that we cannot figure out often suddenly appear at moments of zoning out, like showering or walking. If we stay anxious about work even on vacation, the brain never gets to enter that deeper recovery mode. Over time, that can lead to insomnia and burnout—and when we return to work, we may find we’re simply less sharp. Our judgment gets worse, not because we’re incapable, but because we’re mentally exhausted. Ignoring the brain’s need for rest is like running a precision machine without letting it cool down: eventually, performance drops, and the whole system can crash.
然而，這種放不下的焦慮不只是個人問題，往往也跟團隊的氛圍息息相關。在許多公司裡，我們常會掉入一種沒我不行的心理陷阱，總覺得一旦自己請假，案子就會卡住，甚至擔心自己一不在位子上，很快就會被別人取代。特別是在人手不足的環境下，休假往往會被看成一種對同事的負擔，因為你休息時的工作量，會直接轉嫁到那些本來就很忙的隊友身上。這種內疚感會形成一種惡性循環：大家因為怕被取代或怕害到隊友，而不敢徹底斷開連結，即便人在休假也會偷偷回信，最後導致整個團隊都處於緊繃的崩潰邊緣。這種環境讓休息變成了一種沉重的道德壓力，而非身心修補，長期下來只會讓人想逃離這份工作。 (參考來源：Management Today、Personnel Today)
However, this anxiety of not being able to let go is not only a personal issue, but is also closely related to the team atmosphere. In many workplaces, we fall into the “they can’t do it without me” trap. We tell ourselves that if we take time off, the project will stall. And deep down, we worry that if we’re not around, someone else will step in—and we’ll be replaced. Especially in environments with too few staff, taking a vacation is often seen as a burden on colleagues, because the work you leave behind is directly passed on to teammates who are already very busy. This sense of guilt forms a vicious cycle: because people are afraid of being replaced or of causing trouble for their teammates, they do not dare to fully disconnect. Even while on vacation, they secretly reply to messages, and in the end, the whole team stays tense and close to collapse. This kind of environment turns rest into a heavy moral pressure rather than physical and mental recovery, and over time, it only makes people want to escape from the job.
探究這些社會現象的根源，我們會發現許多企業文化仍然存在一個誤區，那就是錯誤地將忙碌與忠誠度劃上等號，甚至暗地裡獎勵那些二十四小時隨傳隨到的員工。這種文化完全忽視了一個關鍵事實：充分的休息是高品質決策的必要條件，而非阻礙。當管理層只看重員工的待命時數，不重視身心恢復的彈性，其實是在消耗人才的長期產出能力，換取短期的管理安穩。在 2026 年這個追求創新與韌性的時代，這種只看勞動力、不看心理健康的營運模式是稍嫌過時的。若企業不改變對勤奮的定義，這種文化將持續侵蝕組織的創新動能。(參考來源：Eurofound、European Parliament)
If we trace these patterns back to their roots, we’ll see a common misconception in many corporate cultures: they equate busyness with loyalty—and sometimes even quietly reward employees who are “always on,” 24/7. But this mindset ignores a key truth: rest isn’t an obstacle to performance; it’s a prerequisite for good judgment. When leaders measure commitment by hours on standby instead of supporting real physical and mental recovery, they’re burning through people’s long-term output for short-term peace of mind. And in 2026—an era that prizes innovation and resilience—an operating model that values labor but overlooks mental health is starting to feel outdated. Unless companies redefine what “hard work” really means, this culture will keep draining the energy that fuels innovation.
因此，大家不必對休息感到愧疚。最新一項由匹茲堡大學教授團隊進行的大規模研究發現休息是有好處的。這項研究分析了 28 個 OECD 成員國，約 13.6 萬筆的企業觀測值（firm-year observations） 。研究證實，當法律保障員工下班後能徹底斷電，企業的資產回報率平均提升了 0.8%。要解決休假焦慮這個問題，核心在於推動強制最小休假制度，並由主管帶頭示範休假不發訊息，讓員工感受到斷線是被允許且安全的。學會高品質地斷開連結，將會是未來頂尖人才與企業不可或缺的核心競爭力。懂得休息的人，才能在長跑中走得更遠。(參考來源：University of Pittsburgh、Buffer)
So there’s no need to feel guilty about resting. In fact, a recent large-scale study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh analyzed publicly traded firms with 136,000 firm-year observations across 28 OECD countries. It found that when “right to disconnect” laws protect employees’ ability to truly switch off after work, firm profitability improves. Measures like return on assets rose by about 0.8% after these laws took effect. To reduce vacation anxiety, the key is to make time off real: set a mandatory minimum vacation policy, and have leaders model it—take leave without sending messages—so employees feel that disconnecting is allowed and safe. Learning how to disconnect well will be a core competitive advantage for both top talent and great companies. People who know how to rest go farther in the long run.
本集節目由 CLN 製作播出，若你喜歡這種主題與雙語內容，歡迎追蹤我們、給我們五顆星，並分享給對心理健康、勞逸平衡或學英文有興趣的朋友。也告訴我們下次想聽的主題吧！我們下次見！
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CLN (Corporate Language Network) 創辦於 2014 年，是亞洲企業外語服務和培訓的領導品牌，旨在解決企業因外語所衍伸的相關問題，協助客戶成為具有跨文化溝通和國際合作能力的專業人士。我們提供一流的企業教育訓練、AI 學習工具、隨選隨上家教平台、文件翻譯、會議口譯、師資訓練等專業服務。這些年來，我們的合作廠商包含 Google、Yahoo、IBM、IKEA、Mercedes-Benz、聯發科等多家國際品牌。
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