Email overload means that having a day off is now a thing of the past

Xobni, creators of a Microsoft Outlook add-on, has announced the results of an online survey detailing workers' views on work email. While their findings are hardly revelatory it does once again confirm that most of us are working harder.

The survey of 2,200 adults revealed that there's no such thing as a typical working day anymore, with the traditional 9-5 routine being extended due to workers tapping into their email accounts outside of office hours. The survey found that employees regularly dipped into their inboxes even while they were on holiday. The urge to check messages also encroached on weekends and sick days, with workers reading emails from their beds in many cases.

It’s thought that the economic climate is the main culprit behind employees refusal to leave work in the workplace. Added to that is the increasing use of smartphones, which allows email to be used no matter what the location. Two out of three British workers surveyed said they checked their inboxes while out of the office citing the need to give a quick response as the main reason for keeping tabs on messages.

Email overload while workers are on holiday is seen as a stress-inducing factor of taking a break. Eighty six percent of British employees surveyed said that they felt their inboxes had become so crowded while they were away that it was impossible to respond to all of the messages on their return. A further twenty per cent also stated that they had a hard time feeling productive after going back to work, citing the overwhelming email barrage as a major factor in the equation.

Xobni has come up with a rather obvious list of tips for feeling less stressed when returning to the office. It includes sending calendar reminders to closest contacts reminding them that you will be away. They also suggest giving an alternate contact in your Out of Office message to ensure those emailing get the assistance they need while you are away instead of requiring work from you upon returning from a holiday.