Survey Reveals Personal E-mail Use at Work
A report of the survey of over 4,000 people over 18 in 20 cities across the country also revealed when and how often employees check their personal e-mail:
- 47% sporadically throughout the day
- 25% first thing when they arrive at work
- 18% at lunchtime
- 8% during an afternoon break
- 2% right before heading home.
The survey also looked at gender trends for personal e-mail use at work, showing that, of the 20% who report feeling guilty about sending personal e-mails from the job site, 27% were women compared to 13% of men. Nine percent of those who check personal e-mail at work reported having been caught by their boss.
The focus of the survey was not just on the job personal e-mail use. In general the results showed that users rely on e-mail as much as the phone for communication, and 77% of them have more than one e-mail account. Twenty six percent say they can’t go more than two to three days without checking it, and users report checking it any place, including at the beach (6%), in the bathroom (4%), while driving (4%), and at church (1%).
-Rebecca Moore