Too many Americans admit to answering after-hour work emails or messages

Seven in 10 people admit to answering their work emails or messages when they’re off the clock.

Zimbra and OnePoll partnered to survey 2,000 office employees about the pros and cons of always being “logged on.”

They found that 70 percent of people actually appreciate receiving work notifications at any hour of the day. Maybe this is why the average person answers work emails 12 minutes faster than personal ones.

When asked to name their ideal work schedule, respondents shared a variety of responses, like working “remotely with full flexibility of my work,” “whenever I want to meet my production” or as specific as “8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.”

Employees may stay connected during their free time to feel good about being on top of their work (48 percent), because they’re hoping to move up within the company (47 percent), and because they don’t like leaving things unfinished (45 percent).

But this doesn’t mean the work takes over respondents’ life. Seventy-two percent would still rate their work-life balance as “good” or “excellent.”

Thanks to technology, participants feel they can communicate in real-time (34 percent) or be readily available to their coworkers whether they’re on or off the clock (33 percent.)

Still, an astonishing 90 percent of employees that work from home admit they’re usually “on” later than the usual 5 p.m., but are more likely to take at least three 15-minute breaks.