Have you ever completed part or all of your workday in your pajamas? Have you gone so far as to mute the conference call to complete your morning rituals? Does your guilty history include attending a teleconference in business dress only from the waste up? If you are guilty of any of these, you have discovered the flexibility of smartphones and PDA devices.

Global business communications applications provider, Avaya (News - Alert), has revealed that the use of such devices is fueling some interesting phone habits among companies’ senior managers. According to a recent survey, chief executives and company owners are more likely to take advantage of seamless communications by working in a bathrobe and smartphone users on the whole had the most bold conference call habits.

The survey highlights how unified communications – which enables a duplication of the office environment from any location, on any device – is driving more flexible working styles and increased productivity.

"Most workers rely on communications technology during their working day and the ability to access information remotely has an obvious appeal," said Ian Groves, director, Unified Communications (News - Alert) Applications, Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Avaya, in a Thursday statement.

"Multiple communication technologies can result in too many messages in too many places.  It can be a virtual chaos.  Our survey reveals that smartphone users - and particularly senior level employees - are taking advantage of Unified Communications to ensure business opportunities aren't missed, while enjoying the benefits of flexible working".

The survey looked at 2,200 managers across the U.S., UK and Australia and found that senior managers are embracing a more relaxed style of working and smartphone workers communicate more readily and often than traditional mobile phone workers.

Of those CEOs or equivalent level individuals surveyed, 44 percent admitted they would not want others to see them on a video conference because they are often at home wearing pajamas, compared with only 9 percent of more junior managers. Smartphone users are twice as likely to take a call from a toilet as traditional mobile users and 51 percent have participated in a conference call wearing only a bathrobe – or less.

Smartphones are also contributing to less attention paid in meetings as owners revealed that they kept communication going during meetings. E-mailing on their phone or PDA under the desk was a habit for 63 percent. This same group was also more likely to log-on at personal events.

The survey also found that twice as many smartphone users have checked e-mail or text messages during a wedding or funeral than non-smartphone users. Also revealed was the reality that senior vice presidents are more likely to nap during conference calls with 17 percent admitting to doing so versus 5 percent for all other job titles.
"With access to the same communications environment, regardless of location or device, employees can prioritize and rapidly respond to business events wherever they are" continued Groves. 

"At Avaya we have been talking about Unified Communications for a number of years and today I can say that we have managed to successfully integrate a number of applications including telephony, email, voice mail, instant messaging, video and collaboration across a variety of interfaces be it the PC or web based clients, telephones and mobile devices, or speech truly unifying communications and simplifying people's working environment.”

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.