Morning glory: Office workers fire up email first

There may be more ways to communicate than ever - from mobile phones to IM and even microblogging sites such as Twitter - but email is still the first port of call for the majority of UK office workers, according to the latest silicon.com reader poll.

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Asked what is the first application they fire up when they get to the office, 83 per cent of poll respondents said email is what they eyeball while sipping their morning coffee. This is despite the proliferation of mobile gadgetry enabling email access on the move - perhaps because while reading emails on smartphones is quick and easy, composing replies can be fiddly and time-consuming so commuters wait until they get to work to flesh out their replies.

The second most popular app - though still a country mile behind email - is the internet browser, with 10 per cent of poll respondents saying it's their first fix each day. This suggests a browser-centric view of the tech world is still a bit premature.

Very few office workers start their day with any other apps, the poll found - with just three per cent apiece turning to a bespoke corporate app or an IM client at 9am, and one per cent diving straight into a spreadsheet.

No one routinely opens a word processor before their first hit of caffeine - which suggests mornings are not the most fertile ground for creative inspiration.

The poll was based on the responses of almost 300 silicon.com readers.

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