A new study shows that American workers have found digital technology as a great tool for being more productive, but at the price of working longer hours.
The nonprofit organization Pew Research Center conducted a survey between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18 involving over 1,000 adult internet users, with 535 adults working full or part time being the main focus, according to USA Today. Forty-six percent, nearly half of the participants, said using email, the internet and smartphones helped them be more productive, and 39 percent said these tools have made their working hours more flexible.
However, 35 percent - almost as many of them - said these tools have resulted in them working more hours.
"The once rigid boundary between 'work' and 'home' has changed to something that is highly permeable," said Lee Rainie, Pew's director of internet, science and technology research. "People do lots of work at home and they do some home-related things at work- like shop, browse the Web, watch March Madness on their mobile devices in their cubicles."
Other significant findings include 61 percent of respondents viewing email as "very important" for work, as well as declining reliance on regular phones, The Register reported. The authors said it was surprising to find that while digital communication continues to evolve, and in the face of hacking, spam, and warnings of email overuse, workers still find email to be the digital tool that is most important for their jobs.
Only 35 percent said they needed a landline phone for their jobs, and only 24 percent said they needed a mobile phone for work.
"For most office workers now, life on the job means life online," the survey says.
The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development says American employees spend 1,790 hours a year at their jobs compared to workers in other countries, USA Today reported. This number is higher than the average of 1,765 hours, and almost 11 percent of U.S. employees work very long hours, while the OECD average is 9 percent.
Rainie said the goal of the survey was not to find if people are working more than they used to, however, the participants feel as if they are.
"They feel more 'on call' when it's possible for their bosses to yank the electronic leash and e-mail them after hours or call their smartphone while they are on vacation," Rainie said.
