Virtual Office Resource

Employees who check in with work when outside of the office spend more time working, according to a recent Gallup poll, but they also are more likely to think working outside of the office is a positive development.

Not that those who spend less time working outside of normal business hours take a dim view to workout outside of the office, either. Both groups generally think the ability to work outside of the office via mobile devices is a positive trend, according to the Gallup poll; roughly 79 percent of the full-time workers who were employed by an employer said that they were at least somewhat upbeat about using mobile devices to stay connected to work after normal business hours.

Roughly 36 percent of those polled said they work off-hours remotely, which is just slightly higher than the 33 percent that indicated they were required to check in after work by their employer.

But even if working outside of work seems to largely be decided by employers, 86 percent of these mobile workers view it as a positive development. Of those who do it less, 75 percent still reported that working outside of work via mobile device was a positive development.

Unsurprisingly, the young were most likely to check in with work outside of business hours. Roughly 38 percent of those in the millennial generation check in after work, and 37 percent of those in generation X. Only 33 percent of baby boomers, on the other hand, check back in with work after work.

The prevalence of men who do so also is higher, with 40 percent of men and only 31 percent of women doing so, according to Gallup.

Those with a college degree are more likely (48 percent as opposed to 23 percent for those without a college degree), and the highest earners are twice as likely to check in as lower earners. The Gallup poll found that 53 percent of high-earners work after work, while only 25 percent of low earners do.

Those who check in regularly with work average roughly 10 extra hours spent on work per week, Gallup found, while those who do not regularly check in average about 4 hours.

The bottom line is that allowing workers to work remotely is a positive development for businesses, as it increases the time workers spend at work; policies that require workers to check back in with work appear to be effective in driving a longer work day.

Yet, this push to have workers check in after normal business hours doesn’t seem to bother employees, perhaps because it enables them more opportunities to meet deadlines and flex around home life scheduling.