Ah, peak vacation season has arrived: at last, some time to kick back, grab some refreshments and catch up on…work?!

That's true, at least for the 54 percent of U.S. adults who say that in today's times, bosses expect you to work during vacations, according to a new study commissioned by Ricoh Americas Corporation and conducted online by Harris Interactive from April 29 – May 1, 2013 among 2,071 U.S. adults age 18+. When did this become okay? This new concept of vacation, fueled by ubiquitous mobile technology, is undermining what's supposed to be a source of relaxation and recharge for many Americans. Ricoh asks – is this how it should be?

51 percent of employed Americans who ever take a vacation agreed that they would rather get a root canal than work during vacation. On the other hand, checking email eases the return to work for nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of them. If you do check email, however, you'll likely suffer for it: their family members get upset when loved ones work on vacation, say 67 percent of employed Americans who ever take vacation.

So let's say you check your email and have to take care of a small document revision. Well, that's a problem too: Less than one-fourth of workers (24 percent) say their employer makes it easy to access work-related documents from home or a remote location.

"Hold on, it seems employees are actually working harder when they're on vacation than when they're in the office," said Ricoh Americas Corporation VP of Strategic Marketing Terrie Campbell. "This means both employers and employees end up paying the price of working vacations, and it doesn't have to be this way. It shouldn't be this way. Either we manage our technology or it manages us."

Work/life balance is a critical concern as Gen Y, digitally connected since birth, enters the workforce on the way to becoming the majority. Gen Y workers need to realize that their uninterrupted connection to technology will likely harm their relationships, if not their health. Older workers, who have felt the consequences of working vacations firsthand, are best-positioned to influence policy and reverse the working vacation trend.

"Workers absolutely must have a chance to recharge for themselves, their families and their career," continues Campbell. "Employers ignore this need at their peril. Workers will choose desirable employers by whether they encourage you to disconnect on vacation or not. In those situations where working on vacation is unavoidable, the most sought-after employers will make mobile access easy."

Helping companies support increasingly mobile employees and innovate their work styles are just two of the pressing business challenges Ricoh helps organizations meet through its Business Information Solutions approach.