News
- Survey finds 92% of UK workers struggle to mentally switch off outside of work
- Only 1% said they never check emails, messages, or perform work tasks out of hours
- The Always-On Workforce Report 2026 surveyed 1,500 professionals
A new report into the out of hours activities of British employees has found that workers seem to really like being at work – either that, or they have difficulty in switching off from the intensity of their contracted hours.
The Always-On Workforce Report 2026, conducted by MyPerfectCV, found 92% of the 1,500 professionals it surveyed said they are carrying out work tasks and answering emails and messages beyond their contracted hours.
In addition, workers have admitted to working while off sick, and feeling guilty when requesting annual leave - and interestingly, a significant chunk of the respondents stated that management expectations drive their inability to switch off.
Working while sickOf particular concern are the report’s findings that concern sickness. Of the 1,500 respondents (500 from the UK, and 1,000 across Spain, Italy, France, and Germany), 91% of UK workers admitted working while off sick. Moreover, 34% “frequently” worked while feeling unwell rather than taking a sick day, with 57% admitting to doing the same “occasionally.”
The survey’s conclusion to these statistics is they point “to a culture of presenteeism where employees feel compelled to push through illness rather than prioritise recovery.”
Meanwhile, annual leave also remains a problem for British workers. Employers have a duty responsibly manage annual leave requests, refusing or rejecting requests with plenty of notice, and only refusing by citing valid business reasons, such as staff shortages. Yet according to this survey, 31% admit to anxiety asking for their statutory holidays.
The mental disconnection struggle is realOne interesting result from the report is what is behind the inability for UK workers to “switch off.” 50% of those surveyed blamed heavy workloads, while not-inconsiderable 44% put it down to management expectations.
55% of employees admitted to checking emails, responding to messages, and carrying out work tasks every day, which seems to point to a blurring of the boundary between professional and personal time. It is notably higher than the European equivalent of 29%.
Not switching off from work can have serious impacts on personal relationships and mental health. To underline this, 34% said that they always find it “difficult to disconnect from work mentally during their time off.”
"Being 'always on' isn't defined by one behaviour - it's the accumulation of small decisions to stay connected," noted Jasmine Escalera from MyPerfectCV.
"Whether it's checking emails on holiday, responding after hours, or working through illness, the lines between work and personal time have become increasingly blurred for many UK employees."
The Garmin Cirqa is a strong new addition to Garmin's ecosystem of devices. It's a screenless fitness tracker like a Whoop band, working with the Garmin Connect app to track sleep, workouts, and health metrics. You can read all about what happened when I tested the Garmin Cirqa against a heart rate monitor during its UK launch event here.
One under-the-radar announcement most people have glossed over is that even though most features are subscription-free, you need a Garmin Connect+ subscription to access Garmin Coach. This is Garmin's digital coaching feature, offering personalized training plans for its users to help achieve their strength, running, or cycling goals.
The reason this is important is that it's the first time Garmin Coach has been locked behind a paywall. It used to be that more expensive watches came with Garmin Coach features, while less expensive watches didn't. That was it. This latest development means we could see future budget-friendly Garmin offerings, such as the successor to the Garmin Forerunner 70, get Garmin Coach capabilities but keep them locked behind Connect+ in order to keep costs down.
While this is very much in line with how Fitbit and Apple run things on their fitness apps, it's a big change for Garmin and one that could rile existing users. We've seen how the Garmin community reacted to Connect+ when it was first introduced last year — negatively, with many people fearing new watch features would be locked behind a paywall, as ongoing subscriptions are very profitable for tech companies.
At least it's still substantially better value than Whoop's pay-annually mandatory subscription model.
Garmin acquires TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic(Image credit: TrainingPeaks)Garmin has acquired TrainingPeaks and its sibling platform TrainHeroic. TrainingPeaks is an incredibly popular cross-platform programming software where users can download and use fitness plans and communicate directly with coaches. It's available on lots of different devices, not just Garmin watches.
Naturally, many people are afraid this means TrainingPeaks will become a Garmin-exclusive piece of software, and anyone who currently uses, for example, an Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be left in the cold. Even those that use it on Garmins may fear another subscription will be required.
Our homes editor and ex-fitness editor Cat Ellis uses TrainingPeaks to train for her marathons. She said: "I use TrainingPeaks and a Garmin watch, so I’m interested in what the future will hold as the two become intertwined — but also concerned for owners of non-Garmin devices. It seems plausible that owners of devices from other brands — such as Polar, Suunto, and Amazfit — might be left out if Garmin folds TrainingPeaks plans into Garmin Connect+.
"I’m also curious how Garmin might integrate TrainingPeaks. Will there be a separate Connect+ membership tier that unlocks access to TrainingPeaks plans? What about plans from coaches that TrainingPeaks users currently pay for separately? It’s going to be an interesting time."
Cross-platform confirmation(Image credit: Future)TrainingPeaks & TrainHeroic MD Lee Gerakos told DC Rainmaker that "TrainingPeaks will continue to operate as a cross-platform ecosystem, enabling athletes and coaches to use the devices, platforms and services that best suit their needs."
TrainingPeaks users can breathe a sigh of relief, for now — but it's not hard to connect the dots. Garmin's most recent, highest-profile product puts its coaching features behind a paywall at the same time it announces the acquisition of one of the most popular third-party coaching platforms. Garmin could be aiming to improve its coaching platform to get more people to join Connect+.
This isn't a bad thing per se — much of the criticism levelled at Connect+ was that its offering was a bit thin — but the pressure will be on for Garmin to keep its existing users, along with existing TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic users, happy with how the new coaching features are implemented.
The Samsung 990 EVO Plus is one of our favorite internal SSDs, offering an excellent balance of speed, efficiency, and reliability for anyone looking to upgrade a compatible desktop or laptop. The 4TB model is currently selling for $599.99 at Newegg, which is its lowest price in the past 30 days.
While this isn't the cheapest 4TB NVMe drive available, it offers sequential read and write speeds of up to 7,250MB/s and 6,300MB/s, making it a great choice for large file transfers, and running demanding applications and creative workloads.
The 990 EVO Plus supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 interfaces for wide compatibility with modern systems. Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0 improves sustained performance during large transfers, while the nickel-coated controller helps keep temperatures under control and maintain power efficiency.
Should you buy it?✅ Buy the 4TB 990 EVO Plus SSD if...
The biggest reason to choose the 990 EVO Plus is its balance of speed, efficiency, and compatibility. It supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 systems, making it suitable for a wide range of modern desktops and laptops. Samsung's Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0 also improves sustained large-file performance, while the nickel-coated controller helps maintain efficiency during extended workloads.
❌ Skip the 4TB 990 EVO Plus SSD if...
If you're simply looking for the lowest cost per terabyte, there are cheaper alternatives available. Many everyday workloads also won't fully benefit from the drive's maximum transfer speeds, so budget-focused buyers may find a more affordable PCIe 4.0 SSD offers enough performance for basic computing needs.
Today's top Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD dealPCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD with 4TB capacity, sequential speeds up to 7,250/6,300MB/s, Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0, Host Memory Buffer, nickel-coated controller, and Magician software support.View Deal
Why we recommend itSamsung makes some of the most dependable consumer SSDs, and the 990 EVO Plus is a great example. The drive offers sequential read speeds of up to 7,250MB/s, with writes up to 6,300MB/s, which makes boot times, application launches, and large file transfers far speedier than on older drives.
Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0 helps maintain performance during sustained workloads, while the nickel-coated controller improves thermal efficiency. Support for both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 means the drive works with a wide range of modern desktops and laptops.
Price Context & Historical ValueAt $599.99, this is Newegg's lowest price in the past 30 days. Although the 4TB 990 EVO Plus launched at an MSRP of $344.99 in 2024, SSD prices have risen dramatically since then as AI demand has pushed up NAND flash memory costs across the industry.
This deal is more attractive in today's market than the launch comparison might suggest. Both Amazon and Newegg were selling the 4TB drive for $1,049.99 until just days ago. Now, both retailers have it at $599.99. You can buy it at Amazon here.
For more savings on storage, we're always tracking the best SSD deals.
The Catch: What to know before you buyBefore buying, make sure your desktop or laptop includes an M.2 2280 slot supporting PCIe NVMe drives. While the 990 EVO Plus works with both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 platforms, older systems may not benefit from the drive's full performance.
Back in November, Google surprised-dropped an update for its Android-based Quick Share tool that allowed Pixel 10 users to share files to iPhones via AirDrop. Four months ago to the day, Samsung followed suit by rolling out the same functionality to the best Samsung phones, and at the time of writing, over 30 different Android phones can now seamlessly send and receive files to and from Apple’s iPhones.
Yesterday saw the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Flip 8, and because they all run One UI 9 (which is based on Android 17) straight out of the box, all three new phones have access to AirDrop via Quick Share.
So, as any humble tech journalist would do when opening up their Galaxy Z Fold 8 unit for the first time, I immediately sent a picture of myself to my iPhone Air and back again. For testing purposes, you understand. Here’s how quick the process was:
@techradar ♬ Sway with Me - The Onlife SoulAs above, this functionality is not unique to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 nor particularly new to Android phones more generally any more — but I realised while watching Galaxy Unpacked that we hadn’t yet published an article showcasing AirDrop via Quick Share in all its seamless file-sharing glory. So there you go, readers — I know you’ve all been on tenterhooks for eight months straight. This is a big deal.
(Image credit: Samsung)Incidentally, if you own an Android phone that currently supports AirDrop via Quick Share, you’ll have to select ‘Everyone (10 minutes)’ in the Quick Share settings menu to ensure your device is viewable to the iPhone you want to send or receive your file to. On iPhone, you’ll have to select ‘Everyone for 10 minutes’ from the Bluetooth menu in Control Center. Happy file-sharing!