The work day that never ends

COMPUTER LAP TOP/ WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY: A local surfs the Web in the street in the northern Salamanca town in this December 15, 2006 file photo. Salamanca, 200 miles (316 km) north of the capital Santiago, became Chile's first WiFi town in September. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet hailed the project as the first of its kind in South America and as a major step toward "cutting the gap between rich and poor, between the capital and the regions, between the large and small cities". To match feature CHILE-WIRELESS/ REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/Files (CHILE)

COMPUTER LAP TOP/ WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY: A local surfs the Web in the street in the northern Salamanca town in this December 15, 2006 file photo. Salamanca, 200 miles (316 km) north of the capital Santiago, became Chile's first WiFi town in September. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet hailed the project as the first of its kind in South America and as a major step toward "cutting the gap between rich and poor, between the capital and the regions, between the large and small cities". To match feature CHILE-WIRELESS/ REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/Files (CHILE)

Published Jul 27, 2015

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London - British employees are working longer than ever, with the traditional nine-to-five day moving closer to eight-to-eight, according to new research.

Workers are tethered to the office by a technological umbilical cord, with most checking emails well into the evening, the survey found.

The typical employee also puts in an average of four hours at the weekend, and one in three does not even switch off on holiday.

But despite working longer than ever, half of the 1 000 surveyed said they enjoyed a good work-life balance.

The survey was carried out on behalf of Taylors of Harrogate High Voltage Coffee and discovered the average Briton will first check their emails at 7.45am, with work phones still being checked at 7.50pm. One in ten will wake in the night and check work emails, with two-thirds thinking about them as they wake up in the morning.

Chris Payne, brand manager at Taylors of Harrogate High Voltage Coffee, blamed technology such as smartphones and tablet devices for the behavioural shift.

He said: “The findings reveal a fascinating insight into how our working lives are changing beyond all recognition. The traditional nine-to-five is no more and the working day is getting longer and longer.”

“Even when we switch out of work mode, many of us still remain glued to our gadgets catching up on our favourite TV programmes or getting all the gossip on social media. Yet despite our waking lives revolving around technology it's encouraging to see over half of people are happy with their work life balance.”

The research also revealed that 67 percent wake up in the night worrying and check their emails. One in ten check their emails before going to sleep and 12 percent wake up in the night and get on with some work.

We're also willing to take calls at awkward times with 50 percent saying they've answered on holiday and 30 percent saying they let calls interrupt dinner.

Nearly one in five will take a call in the gym or even in the bath or shower.

And for some, it seems even no moment is to inappropriate. Eight percent said they have taken a call during 'physical intimacy' and three percent have answered at a funeral.

Daily Mail

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