Every Monday morning a third of British workers are suffering from a condition called Weekendvy according to a new study out today. Weekendvy is when adults are economical with the truth when asked by colleagues How was your weekend so that they are seen as more interesting adventurous and fun loving.
The study commissioned by Travelodge surveyed 3000 adults across the UK to investigate how the nation spends the weekend in today s fastpaced world.
Key findings revealed that the pressure for Britons to have an action packed fun weekend is so high that a third of adults lie about what they got up to over the weekend in order to sound cool and impress others.
Three quarters of adults actually think that their friends and work colleagues are having more fun than themselves at the weekend.
Britons are hit the hardest by Weekendvy on a Monday morning when colleagues secretly compete with each other to see who had the most fabulous weekend. Listed below are the top five most popular activities Britons will pretend they did over the weekend:
Painted the town red on Saturday night with their partner or friend
Participated in an adventurous activity
Took a course or training programme
Visited a top restaurant
Took a UK romantic break when really they just retold of an old holiday
Interestingly the survey also revealed 64 per cent of British adults perceive themselves to be daring courageous and basically a fearless adventurous type of person. However we are actually a nation of scaredy cats as only 29 per cent of us have actually been bold enough to do an adventurous activity.
UK Psychologist Corinne Sweet commented on the findings and said The psychological condition Weekendvy that is currently hitting Britain, is to do with needing to feel like an Alpha male or female with high status. We don t want to admit that most of our weekend time is spent trying to catch up with housework paperwork and endless chores. It is the horrible feeling that everyone else is having a better time than us going away partying or having fun.
Noone likes to think of themselves as boring so we like to create a psychological smokescreen pretending a bit like Bridget Jones that we are having a wonderful time when we are not.
Weekendvy means we pretend we are having romantic weekend breaks and learning new skills when in fact most of us are trying to catch up on lost sleep and overwhelming household chores and paperwork.
Further research findings revealed that more adults are hit by Weekendvy in Cardiff London and Edinburgh. Listed below are the top ten UK cities where adults are hit the hardest by Weekendvy.
Cardiff
London
Edinburgh
Manchester
Birmingham
Bristol
Newcastle
Leeds
Norwich
Glasgow
Further research findings revealed that the stresses of modern living is certainly taking its toll, as 32 per cent of Britons reported that their weekend has become an extension of their working week due to heavy work commitments. A further 31 per cent of adults also stated that they are so exhausted and tired by Friday evening that they regularly spend their weekend catching up on sleep.
Sixty four per cent of adults reported they wish they could have more fun at the weekend whilst 56 per cent of respondents wish they could be more spontaneous.
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said Our research has highlighted that it is high time we get up and go, and reclaim our weekend.
Who hasn t sat down on a Sunday evening and wondered where the weekend went. With more of us working longer hours during the week these two precious days, designed for rest and recuperation have just become an extension of the working week. Therefore to cure Weekendvy, a few tweaks to your routine can make the difference between a dull or an action packed weekend.
Listed below are Travelodge top three tips to help Britons reclaim their weekend
Jot down a plan for the weekend
By creating a plan, shift weekend chores to weekdays, so that you can make time for fun at the weekend.
Get out of bed at the same time as weekdays
Do not lose half the day under the duvet, create more time at the weekend by getting up early and seizing the day.
Get Up and Go
Be spontaneous and explore the UK. Leave early on Saturday and return Sunday evening can be an inexpensive short break. It can be the tonic that you need and there is so much to explore across Britain.
Notes to editors
The survey was conducted in September 2014 with 3,000 British adults