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| CURRENT SECTION :: TechZone | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
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ICT managers have helped e-mail become the dominant communication tool in the workplace by giving end-users inboxes before telephones. New research suggests the move is in response to workers in corporate Britain, who now prefer to communicate electronically instead of talking on the phone. Workers say e-mail is a better way to work compared to traditional office communication, including mobile phones, regardless of it widening the personal communication gap. Rob Lopez, managing director of Dimension Data, which commissioned the study, said the dominance of e-mail begs questions about how complex issues, like problem resolution, are being resolved in the workplace. “Also, e-mail communication can be considered less secure,” he said. This could have a negative impact on productivity as end-users struggle to deal with growing volumes of e-mails.” Lopez’s comments follow a recent probe into the messaging habits of academics and creative professionals, which found the average inbox checks for new mail up to 40 times an hour. Researchers at Paisley and Glasgow universities concluded that e-mail is now the biggest cause of problems in people’s working lives, harrowing or pressuring over 60% of users. Women feel more pressure to respond to mail than men. Users were advised to set aside time to read mail rather than monitoring it constantly “since this will negatively affect all other work activities.” But according to the Dimension Data study, seven out of ten users say email impacts positively on their workload, much more than mobile (52%) or fixed line (53%) phones. E-mail was more widely used and on offer than fixed or mobile voice services. ICT managers cited softphones, instant message systems and blogs as being disruptive, because they can potentially “negatively impact productivity if not managed properly.” Last week, an Australian study authored by SurfControl reportedly found that social networking websites like Facebook are costing employers more than $5bn (£2bn) a year. Aug 22, 2007 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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