B2B email marketers are targeting a workforce that stays
plugged in and is open to messaging into the night, judging by a new study commissioned by Zimbra and conducted by OnePoll.
Of the employees polled, 70% appreciate
receiving notifications at any hour. And the same percentage will answer after-hour emails.
Moreover, 58% have their work emails connected to their personal devices.
People answers work emails 12 minutes faster than personal ones, although it’s not clear if that includes sales or marketing emails.
Still, 70% of those who
work at home feel they have no choice. Only 11% log off at the normal hour of 5 p.m., while the remainder stay plugged in until later.
Despite that, 82% feel that
technology has helped them improve their work-life balance.
For instance, 72% say laptops and phones have given them the freedom to choose where and when they work, although 56% rate
their work as time-sensitive, the study says.
In general, 72% describe their work-life balance as good to excellent.
People are willing work after hours because they get a
good feeling from being on top of their work (48%). In addition, 47% do so because they’re working on moving up in their company, and 45% because they don’t like to leave things
unfinished.
In addition, 40% feel more productive when “working on their own time as opposed to meeting deadlines" (22%).
Technology that allows people to work
outside the office also makes it possible to communicate in real time (34%) and be available to colleagues and clients (33%).
"The flexibility and freedom of choice provided by modern
technology enables us to be notified of work issues as they arise,” states Gautam Ramachandran, director of channel management and solution advisory at Zimbra.
Ramachandran adds,
“While this may appear to be disruptive, having the ability to respond quickly removes the anxiety and stress of pending issues and allows us to have a more enjoyable work-life balance."
OnePoll surveyed 2,000 office workers from April 28 to May 4, 2022 on behalf of Zimbra.