NEW RESEARCH SHOWS that over 60% of employers expect their workforce to check emails outside of office hours.
The survey, which was carried out by Fastnet Recruitment, also revealed that almost three quarters of the working population think that technology has a negative impact on work-life balance.
Surprisingly, the proportion of employers citing the negative impact of technology on free time was higher than that for employees. 82% of bosses said it was disruptive, compared to 68% of employees.
More than eight out of ten employees said that remote email access contributes to longer working hours.
Fastnet managing director Niamh O’Driscoll said that the increasing use of smartphones “means that people are constantly connected, whether in or out of the office and indeed outside office hours”.
Recent moves in France have sought to restrict the use of smartphones for work outside office hours, but a slim majority of Irish workers and 75% of employers would oppose a measure like this.
O’Driscoll added:
“Clearly there is a balance to be struck here. Ireland is lucky enough to be home to a large number of highly successful multinational firms and there is no doubt that the flexibility of our workforce and ease of doing business here has consistently influenced positive FDI decisions.”
“However, these survey results show that technology’s influence on flexibility can just as easily undermine the quest for a work-life balance.”
What do you think? Are smartphones hurting our work-life balance?
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