Virtual employees working smarter but risking burnout

Mobile technologies are transforming the workplace and are helping to lift productivity and efficiency. These technologies, however, are also contributing to increased fatigue and burnout among workers who are putting a lot of the pressure on themselves.

The findings are part of the latest survey results from the Kelly Global Workforce Index, an annual survey conducted by Kelly Services.

The survey examines the rise of the highly virtual workforce, characterised by widespread access to mobile technologies, and the impact on workplace productivity, work-life balance and job security.

Almost 170,000 people across all generations in 30 countries, including the Americas, APAC and EMEA regions, participated in the survey.

More than a quarter of employees (27%) globally say that they feel pressured to stay connected with work outside of normal work hours, through email, smartphones and other online platforms.

More than half (53%) say that staying ‘connected’ has increased their productivity, while work-life balance has also largely improved, but concerns about job security and burnout are being felt by a significant number of respondents.

Nearly a quarter of workers (23%) report spending no time connected to the workplace during their off hours. Almost half (49%) report spending up to five hours each week, another 27% spend more than six hours per week, with many revealing they spend more than 10 hours per week connected to work during their off hours.

The blurring of the line between work and leisure is occurring across all generations but is most pronounced for Gen Y and Gen X employees and those with a professional and technical background. These workers feel the greatest pressure to maintain contact with their work, even during their downtime.

Asked to identify the main pressures for staying connected with work, the largest share (36%) said they were placing the pressure on themselves. Other sources of pressure were coming from employers, identified by 26%, ‘industry culture’ (15%), users and clients (14%), and other employees (5%).

The results also show:

• Workers in APAC feel the most pressure to stay connected to their work outside of normal work hours, with 35% feeling compelled to stay in touch, compared with 28% in EMEA and 21% in the Americas.
• The most significant increase in workplace productivity occurred in APAC, with 62% experiencing gains, compared with 50% in both EMEA and the Americas.
• Almost one-third (32%) say that the use of mobile technologies has contributed to fatigue or burnout.
• Only 29% say that the online technologies have improved their job security.
• 60% would consider telecommuting - working mainly from home or away from the office - if that were offered.

Complete findings are published in the report, Highly Virtual Workforce.