• by Ray Schultz , February 27, 2019

B2B marketers should take pause over a new survey showing that 66% of all technology leaders believe they could live with a ban on after-work at their companies.

However, only 41% of office workers believe their managers would follow that rule, and 46% say they couldn’t resist checking their emails in their off hours, according to a study by Robert Half Technology. 

The study also found that workers in San Diego, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles would be most likely to check their emails after work.

In contrast, IT leaders in Charlotte, Los Angeles and Miami were most likely to feel they could resist the urge.

As for managers, those in large companies — with 1,000 or more employees — are least likely to adhere to an alter-hours ban. Those at small firms are more likely.

Workers in Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis and Houston say their managers wouldn't honor a ban.

Many B2B prospects open their emails in the evening, studies have shown. It’s not clear whether the same numbers would do so with company bans, but there probably would be at least a small, chilling effect on response.  

The issue takes on a new urgency as some countries pass right-to-disconnect legislation, and U.S. jurisdictions look into it.  

"Whether it's a self-inflicted attachment to work or feeling pressure to provide immediate responses to leaders, time away from our jobs is not only healthy, but necessary to do our best work," states Ryan Sutton, district president for Robert Half Technology.

Sutton adds, "With or without legislation, managers should be respectful of their employees' personal time, as well as their own, to avoid burnout." 

Robert Half Technology surveyed 2,800 workers and over 2,800 decision makers in 28 major U.S. markets.