Working hard or hardly working? More than half of workers have sent unneeded emails or messages just to show they are doing something
Office workers are feeling increasingly pressured to unnecessarily respond to emails and messages to prove that they are engaged with their workload
A recent survey of 15,842 adults across five continents reveals that over 52% of workers send unnecessary emails or messages simply to show they are working. This behavior is driven by the expectation of quick responses, which has become a performance metric alongside traditional measures. The research, conducted by Use.AI, indicates that employees are interrupting focused work to respond promptly, even during weekends, evenings, or while on annual leave.
In fact, 53% of respondents admitted to replying outside of regular working hours to remain accessible to their managers. Surprisingly, 52% also confessed to sending unnecessary messages or updating their status just to demonstrate their activity. The survey suggests that managers and team leaders are increasingly demanding faster responses, leading to interrupted concentration for 48% of the workforce.
Interestingly, 42% of employees have discussed their speediness in answering messages during performance evaluations. Despite working efficiently, 29% have been criticized for slow responses, highlighting a paradox in communication expectations. The survey also explores the impact of AI on workplace expectations, finding that 62% of AI users have seen a decrease in expected response times, while only 38% of less frequent AI users have noticed the same change.
Use.AI's CEO, Ihor Herasymov, warns that the convenience of AI may be compressing response time expectations, potentially leading to a misunderstanding between responsiveness and productivity.
Written by urgent.news from TechRadar's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
