New Study Says Your Co-Workers Are Probably E-mailing You From The Toilet

How connected is too connected these days?

ThinkingPhones, a developer of mobile-enabled, analytics-driven business communications released a report called “The Constantly-Connected Employee: Does the Workday Ever Really End?” that revealed new insights into how today’s employees feel about the “always on” workplace, the culture it instills and the expectations it creates.

As it turns out, 53 percent of employees have responded to work-related e-mails while in a bathroom! Remember that next time you get an e-mail during an off-work hour.

For the March 2015 study, ThinkingPhones collected responses via an online survey from 1,031 U.S.-based individuals who are currently employed full-time and over the age of 18.

Some other findings about how connected employees are these days included:

– 87% of employees think it is acceptable to call or text co-workers and clients regarding work-related matters outside of standard business hours.

– 60% of employees respond to work-related emails outside of their standard work hours

– 25% of employees spend at least 30 minutes per day outside of work on their mobile device handling work-related correspondence during the week

– 29% of employees expect a response within five hours when they email a co-worker about a work-related matter over the weekend

If you plan on sending any late-night communications to your co-workers, do so via text, as it is the preferred method.

• 17% of employees do not think there is a cut-off time at night to text co-workers regarding work-related matters
• 11% of employees do not think there is a cut-off time at night to call co-workers regarding work-related matters
• 26 percent of employees handle work-related correspondence on their mobile device within an hour of going to bed
• 48 percent of employees handle work-related correspondence (text, phone, email) before they leave to go to work in the morning
• 27 percent of employees check their phones for work-related emails, calls or texts within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning

Apparently we don’t care if we’re on vacation either.

• 39% of employees say they have a difficult time not responding to work-related emails, calls or texts while on vacation. Additionally, 82% of employees have responded to work-related emails while on vacation
• 18% of employees have responded to work-related emails while on a date
• This one is strongly discouraged but18% of employees have replied to a work-related email while driving
• 9% of employees have responded to work-related emails while in a church

Does generation make a difference?

• When asked if they feel it is appropriate to call or text co-workers or clients regarding work-related matters outside of standard business hours, 22% of Baby Boomers indicated it is appropriate, compared to 13% of Millennials and 11% of Generation X.
• Regarding response to work-related emails outside of work hours, 46% of Millennials do not respond compared to 34% of Baby Boomers and 41% of Generation X.
• If emailing a co-worker over the weekend about a work-related matter, 12% of Baby Boomers expect a response within the hour, compared to 11% of Generation X and 4% of Millennials. 41% of Baby Boomers don’t expect a response until Monday morning; 53% of Generation X and Millennials agreed.

General Insights:

• As connectivity breaks down traditional norms when it comes to employee communication – during and outside regular work hours – what emerges are new expectations, sentiments and pressures to be available and responsive with co-workers on work-related matters in and out of the office.
• Enterprises of all sizes are bearing witness to the “always-connected work persona” and challenged to develop and implement an appropriate corporate policy that complements their professional culture, enables employees to communicate with ease and preserves privacy and personal time.

“It’s clear that employees today feel an enormous amount of pressure to always be available; and they’re not necessarily happy about it. As the more digitally inclined generation of young people who have never lived in a ‘disconnected’ world enter the workforce, the notion of constant accessibility will continue to become the norm. As this shift continues, the implications of a never-ending workday can change the ways companies do business and have the potential to radically change what it means to be an employee in the Digital Age,” said David Laubner, SVP, ThinkingPhones

To download the free report, visit ThinkingPhones.