One in five (20%) UK workers now haveย their work instant messaging app on their personal mobile phone,ย according to new research.ย
The study, commissioned by B2B furniture specialist Furniture At Work, and which asked 1,015 UK workersย about their routine and habits when working from home, sought to uncover howย attitudes to work had changed since the pandemic began. This included the times when most workers are likely to take breaks and theย measuresย they use to ensure their employer knows theyโre working.ย
With workers now being out of sight from their employers,ย 51% saidย theyโveย started replying toย messagesย fasterย toย remind colleagues theyโre working, 47% have been checking in regularly with calls and emails andย 49% now sending emails either early in the morning or late at night.ย
Working from home paranoia is also reflected inย the use of work instant messenger services,ย asย 29% of people said theyย make an effortย to ensure Teams never goes onto an โawayโ status.ย One-in-five (20%) workers have even downloaded Teams onto their phone โ helping them keep in touch even whenย theyโreย on the toilet or out for lunch.ย
The survey also highlighted how some of this paranoia could be fuelled by workers changing work patterns at home. It was discovered that 10-11am every day is the most common time for workers in the UK to step away from their work and take a break, withย 22% doing this, equating to nearly 7,000,000 workers taking a break at that time.ย
When it comes to productivity, Monday is the day when workers are most likely to feel productive, with 24% saying this is the day when they get the most work done. This is in comparison toย the least productive day, Friday, which 36% ofย UK workers said was their least productive day. However, this could beย set to change with future generations,ย asย those aged 16-24 picked Wednesday as their most productive day (26%), withย 22% saying Mondayย wasย actually theirย least productive day.ย
A Spokesperson from Furnitureย Atย Work commented on the findings:ย โWorking from home may have made it harder for employers to keep in touch with their staff, but weโve also seen workers finding it a struggle to ensure their employers know theyโre working hard. The fact that so many are extending their working days, responding to messagesย fasterย and even downloading work instant messenger services onto their phones shows that โworking from home paranoiaโ could really be a thing.ย
โItโs important for employers toย understand the changes in peopleโs working patterns and act toย reassure their staff that they see the hard work thatโs being put in.ย Flexible working is now the future of work,ย and with one-in-nineย (11%) workers still not feeling like theyโre trusted by their employer to complete their set hours in a week, it could be damaging the morale and mental health of the workforce.โย
