Tis the Season to Work – Annual Survey from Xobni Shows Most Americans will be doing Work Email During Thanksgiving and other Holidays this Season
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 22, 2011
Xobni, the leader in email and contact management, today announced the results from a November online survey conducted on its behalf by Harris Interactive among over 2,800 adults. The surveys shows that the majority of employed American adults with work email (68%) check emails during traditional family holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Of these, more than one in four (27%) do so multiple times throughout the day. Additionally, a comparison with last years survey results shows that men are checking email less than they were last year (58% in 2011 vs 67% in 2010) and that the gender gap is closing with respect to checking email on holidays.
American workers continue to be inundated with email at work and this latest survey shows that there is no sign of slowing down during the holiday season with 79 percent of those that check email while on holiday stating that they have received a work-related email from a colleague or client on holidays.
The onslaught of work is leading to more acceptance and attentiveness to work on holidays, with less people (37%) feeling annoyed, frustrated or resentful after receiving work-related emails on holidays than last year (41%). The intensity of this feeling appears to subside with age, as 41 percent ages 18-34 shared the above reactions compared to just 17 percent of adults 55+.
SILVER LINING OF EMAIL ON HOLIDAYS
On the bright side, many people welcomed the email in fact, 19 percent of those that ever received work emails from a colleague while off for the holiday even cited feeling thankful for the distraction or relieved. The survey also found that the draw of work email might just be too hard to get away from. Forty-one percent of those that check work email while they have time off for the holidays believe that staying up-to-date on email eases their workloads once they return from break. One in ten (10%) of respondents ages 18-44 stated that they did so while spending time with friends or relatives at Holiday parties/gatherings or during meals or another inappropriate time. Better yet, some (6%) admitted to using work email as a way to avoid awkward family/holiday commitments and crazy friends and/or relatives.
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGES IN EMAIL HABITS
Interestingly, the number of people expecting to receive and check work-related email over the holidays was shockingly similar to the results from the same survey in 2010. The percentage of people expecting to receive work-related email was exactly the same (79%) year-over-year, as was the percentage of people (19%) that felt thankful for the distraction or relieved at receiving work-related email. However, there could be a silver lining to the email madness: Survey data shows that the number of people that expect to check work email has dropped 4 percent (59% in 2010 to 55% this year).
Another notable difference is that it appears were closing the gender gap when it comes to checking work email: Last year, 67 percent of men admitted to checking on holidays and 50 percent of women compared to 58 percent men and 51 percent women in 2011. Also on the bright side, less people are feeling annoyed, frustrated or resentful about receiving work-related emails on holidays (dropped from 41% to 37%), possibly indicating an acceptance to the always on mentality in the workplace.
OTHER NOTABLE DIFFERENCES (Gender, Region, Age)
