A new Adweek/Harris Poll shows that two in five U.S. adults (40 percent) say they have taken or are planning to take a vacation this summer while 12 percent are not sure if they will take a vacation. Among Americans vacationing this summer, however, almost half ($46 percent) say that they will (or did) work on their vacation.

This number includes over a third (53 percent) who monitor emails and just under a quarter (22 percent) each who check voicemails or occasionally take phone calls (22 percent). An very small (1 percent) of Americans who are vacationing this summer connect with the sentiment: “What's a vacation?” because they work as if they are not on vacation at all. Over a third of Americans vacationing this summer detach more fully and say they will not (or did not) do any work on their summer vacation (35 percent) while 19 percent were not or will not be employed at the time of their vacation.

The survey of 3,304 U.S. adults, which was conducted between July 13 and 15 by Harris Interactive, found that men (54 percent) are more likely than women (37 percent) to work on their summer vacation and among different age groups the chosen vacation-working style varies as well. Vacationing adults aged 35-44 are most likely to say they monitor emails (47 percent do vs. between 24 percent and 38 percent of all other age groups); those 45-54 are most likely to check voicemails (29 percent vs. between 15 percent and 25 percent) and the youngest group, aged 18-34, is most likely to occasionally take phone calls (26 percent vs. between 17 percent and 22 percent of other age groups who do the same).

Whether these devices facilitate work or fun, more than eight in 10 Americans (81 percent) vacationing this summer say they will bring (or they brought) at least one technology device listed on their vacation. Fifty percent say so about a laptop computer; 45 percent bring a smartphone such as an iPhone, Droid or BlackBerry; and 35 percent say they bring an MP3 player like an iPod. Fewer than one in five (16 percent) vacationing Americans bring an eReader device, DVD player (14 percent) or tablet computer such as an iPad (12 percent) on their vacation.

Among those who bring a tablet computer on their summer vacation, slightly less than a third (32 percent) say it makes them more likely to do work on that vacation (32 percent) with one in five saying it makes them much more likely to do so (18 percent). A majority, however, says that bringing a tablet does not affect their likelihood to do work on vacation (62 percent) while a few say it makes them less likely to work (7 percent). Among those who bring an eReader device on vacation half say they read more than when they are not on vacation (47 percent), 37 percent read the same amount and 16 percent read less while on vacation. In terms of low-tech media consumption, just 22 percent of Americans vacationing this summer say they read more magazines while on vacation, slightly fewer say they read less (14 percent) while half say their magazine-reading habits do not change on vacation (51 percent); 13 percent never read magazines at all.

The survey concludes that while vacations are seen as time to relax and unwind, among other benefits, it seems many Americans continue to work during this downtime. The survey also found Americans bring technology devices on their vacations as well, which some say may encourage them to stay involved with work (monitoring emails, etc.) while others assert that spending an extended period of time without a relied-upon technology device may actually increase stress and anxiety.