Eight hours per week lost to email

The latest survey into the average working day has revealed that employees spend up to eight hours per week emailing.

The need for effective mobile communication within a company was also highlighted as bosses try to reduce lost productivity resulting from any time spent away from the office by enabling staff to work remotely.

The research, commissioned by BT Cellnet, revealed 85 per cent of respondents consider email to be the most vital business tool and 68 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about time on the move and away from their desks resulting in a drop in productivity.

As such companies are moving over to working practices that enable staff to leave their desks without losing touch with their email.

Over 60 per cent of businesses surveyed said they have flexible working conditions in place, and 35 per cent of senior decision makers said enabling staff to work remotely increased morale, while 74 per cent of respondents said remote working made them feel "empowered".

The research coincides with, and fortunately, if perhaps not coincidentally, supports, the launch of the Blackberry device from BT Cellnet and RIM which will enable workers to email more efficiently while on the move.