TRUCE Software Survey Gauges How Smart Devices are Impacting Employees' Workday

With the run-up to COVID-19, most of us might have spent March 6 without knowing it was the National Day of Unplugging, an annual call to take a 24-hour break from technology.

To coincide with the day, TRUCE Software surveyed 1,500 employees across varying occupations nationwide to gauge how smart devices are influencing their workday. 

“The majority of respondents (89 percent) admit they put their phone on silent mode at various times throughout the workday just to minimize the interruptions,” says Joe Boyle, CEO, TRUCE Software. “While this is a promising statistic, the challenge to keep distractions at bay is exacerbated with more than 80 percent of respondents admitting they have some level of automated alerts set up on their phones, sending them alerts throughout the day – many of which are non-work-related.”

In addition to the above findings, the survey identified both counter-productive and unsafe behaviors regarding mobile device usage on the job, including:

• Lingering in the car, the restroom or taking an extended break to finish reading or watching something on a phone before returning to work (57 percent).
   
• Taking work-related calls while driving to or from work (51 percent).

• Hiding a phone while in a meeting to continue to check messages or text with a coworker (24 percent).

• Tripping, bumping into something or someone, or experiencing another embarrassing misstep while looking at a phone (18 percent).

“Employees and their employers are struggling with this seemingly never-ending clash between the need to stay connected and the need to get things done,” Boyle adds.