Small businesses owners, like many insurance brokers, are the most likely to keep working over the festive break, with 43% admitting they will "attend to significant pieces of work", a study by flexible workplace provider Regus has found.

News.com.au reports that at least 37% of Australian workers intend to take their electronic devices on holidays so they can attend to work emails and calls.

Workaholics admit holidays are no deterrent, with 11% prepared to work more than three hours a day during their break.

But Regus’s director for Asia Pacific say leaving the work phone on robs workers of essential downtime.

"Thanks to smartphones, tablets and cloud computing, work is now something you do, not somewhere you go. Taking a break and spending time with friends and family is essential for maintaining a positive work-life balance.”

Nearly a quarter of employees of large organisations intend to work on important projects during their holiday.

Small business workers plan to work between one and three hours a day over the summer break (49%) while another 14% will work more than three hours a day.

Forty-four per cent of large businesses employees will log on for one to three hours a day while 6% plan to devote more than three hours a day to work.

Almost half of holiday-makers are phoned with work-related inquiries by colleagues while 23% admit that working during the holiday causes arguments.