Xobni announced the results from an August online survey conducted on its behalf by Harris Interactive (in U.S.) and Opinion Matters (in UK) detailing workers’ views on work email. The surveys shows that the typical 9-5 work day no longer exists as workers in America and the U.K. regularly check email outside of normal business hours, including on vacation, weekends, sick days and even when they are in bed at home, in order to stay on top of their over-flowing inboxes.

With the down economy and the advent of mobile email on smartphones, workers are overwhelmed with email and feel compelled to work longer hours to keep up with their jobs. The survey found that roughly two out of three Americans (72 percent) and Brits (68 percent) who check their email outside of regular business hours do so while on vacation, when they are taking time off, on a weekend and/or on another non-work day. But the two countries are far different when it comes to sick days: 42 percent of Americans who check work email outside of business hours shared that they check emails when they are home sick compared to only 25.8 percent of British professionals checking their email while out sick. Working men in America are guiltier of emailing during off hours with 65 percent of those who have work email sharing that they do so versus 51 percent of their female counterparts.

Workers now feel more compelled to check email outside of work to keep up and advance their careers. More than one quarter (27 percent) of Americans and a fifth of Brits (20 percent) who check email outside of business hours do so because they feel they are expected to provide quick responses, even outside regular business hours. Additionally, 37 percent of Americans, are afraid to go without checking their email because they might miss something important compared to 45 percent who have the same worry in the U.K. Many Americans who check work email outside of regular business hours (43 percent) do so in order to ease their workload and 18 percent feel the need to check email outside of work hours in order to have a successful career. Neither U.S. nor British workers emailed outside of regular business hours to impress their boss/colleagues with a mere 5 percent admitting to doing so.

Business professionals have become so overwhelmed with email that they are bringing email to the bedroom. In fact, one in five Americans (19 percent) who check work email outside of regular business hours cited that they do work email either before they get out of bed in the morning or while in bed before they fall asleep at night. Brits seem to respect the bed only a bit more, with 14 percent prepared to check work email. Of this group, American men are more likely to check email from bed with 21 percent stating that they do so compared to just 16 percent of their female counterparts. The survey also shows that checking email while in bed has a generational basis as American adults who check work email outside of regular business hours ages 18-34 are twice as likely to do so than adults ages 35-54 – 31 percent compared to just 15 percent.

Half (50 percent) of American professionals who check work email outside of regular business hours cited they checked work email while on vacation/have time off compared to only 29 percent of people surveyed in the UK. Upon returning from vacation, 26 percent of Americans who take vacation/time off of work either feel they get too many emails to respond to all of them, or are too overwhelmed by the volume of emails upon returning from vacation compared to a whopping 86 percent of Brits. Additionally, 18 percent of U.S. adults who take vacation/time off from work feel they have a hard time actually being productive after returning from holiday.

No wonder we’re all exhausted!

Source: Xobni Press Release, September 2, 2010

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