Technology has certainly transformed the way American workers do business. It has also changed the where, and the how much.
A new survey by the Pew Research Center shows nearly 45% of adult employees work outside of their workplace at least once a month, thanks largely to the Internet and cell phones.
About one in five (21%) reported working outside of their office every day or almost every day. Another 13% said they work remotely a few times a week, and 10% said they work out of the office a few times a month.
While the Internet, cell phones and other digital tools have given workers greater flexibility, they have also come at a price: longer hours. More than one-third of the surveyed workers (35%) said technology has increased the amount of time they spend working.
Among U.S. workers who use the Internet, email reigns king as the most important tool for getting their work done. Overall, 61% said email was “very important’’ for doing their job, followed by 54% who said the Internet was “very important.’’
Surprisingly, smartphones and social media were less important, even in today’s mobile-focused world. Only 24% of survey respondents described smartphones were “very important’’ to their work compared with 35% for landline phones. Just 4% said social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn were “very important’’ to their jobs.
While digital tools are often labeled as distractions, many workers say that’s not the case when it comes to finishing their work. Forty-six percent said the Internet, email and cell phones make them more productive, while only 7% said technology makes them less productive.
The findings of the survey were based on the results of 535 adults working full-time or part-time who were asked a series of questions about the role of digital technology in their jobs. Researchers divided the respondents into two groups based on the type of work they do.
The “office-based’’ workers have so-called white collar jobs as professionals, executives, managers, business owners and clerical workers. The “non-office based’’ employers have blue collar jobs as service workers, trade workers and semi-skilled workers.
Among the two groups, email and the Internet were far more important to office workers than non-office workers, who found a cell phone more critical.
The online survey was conducted by the GfK Group Sept. 12-18 among a sample of 1,066 adult Internet users, 18 years of age or older. The Pew Research Center is a Washington, D.C.-based, nonpartisan think tank that studies public issues, attitudes and trends.
Please Leave A Comment
Related posts:
Big Data Blends Online Technology, Video Surveillance with Traditional Market Research for Retail Store Benefit
Survey: American Employees Work an Average of 47 Hours a Week
Dean at University of Pittsburgh Says Technology Equalizes Career Opportunities
Facebook Working on ‘Facebook at Work’
Americans Reach Highest Level of Workplace Engagement in Three Years