Maintaining a work/life balance is a hot topic in the office but it seems many UK workers have found one way to tip the scales in their favour. According to email service GMX 35 per cent of adults admit that being able to respond to personal emails during office hours helps provide some much-welcomed stress relief. The study of 1,679 employees revealed that the average Briton has two separate personal email accounts and checks them an average of two to three times per day. And it seems keeping on top of your own social life is often more difficult than organising your boss’s life – as over half (54%) admitted that keeping up-to-date with your personal email inbox is a bigger task than keeping on top of your work inbox. The study also revealed:

  • 35% of people say private emails are the most valued source of humour during their working day.
     
  • Females are more reliant on being able to access personal emails at work, then their male counterparts (32% of females access their personal emails as a coping strategy at work, compared to 24% of men).
     
  • A fifth of UK employees say they have emailed their partner during the working day to boost their self confidence.