According to Randstad, British workers, including those who work through an umbrella company, are in danger of burning out.
The firm produces a report on workplace trends every quarter and in the latest edition it highlights the problem of employees feeling pressurised into being on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
405 Brits were questioned and 40% of them think they are not performing to their best if they do not respond to emails and telephone calls immediately, regardless of whether they are at work or at home.
Half of the respondents said they feel they have to deal with work-related duties when they’re away from the office. Furthermore, 25% said they had to answer messages while they were in meetings because their workload was so heavy.
The CEO of Randstad UK and Middle East, Mark Bull, said the economic downturn saw more work piled on UK employees and advances in digital technology has meant they can be available 24/7. However, organisations need to make sure they keep their workforce motivated and do not overload them.
The British statistics on answering calls and emails are not dissimilar to those in France, Germany and the USA, but when it came to carrying out other tasks related to work, more British employees feel obliged to do this compared to their overseas counterparts.
Whilst technology is a wonderful thing, it does appear to be taking over our lives. How many people spent part of the bank holiday weekend checking and answering emails and taking work-related calls? It’s no wonder that a lot of people feel they never truly get away from their job.
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