Employees allowed to bring their own devices to work and given the flexibility to adjust their work schedules often work an extra five to 20 hours per week, a new survey claims.
The iPass global mobile workforce report found more than half – 57% - of mobile workers said they worked at least an extra 10 hours per week because they are given flexibility in work schedules through bring your own device (BYOD) schemes. This includes the 15% of respondents working more than 20 extra hours
A sizeable majority of BYOD workers report never disconnecting fully from technology - even when on holiday or spending time with their family - and still check in on the office when off duty.
Only 8% of mobile workers report fully disconnecting during a vacation, with 25% still considering themselves “always on” during this time. But, far from considering this an imposition, employees actually prefer it this way due to the flexibility it gives them while scheduling work tasks, the survey claims.
Around 42% of respondents would prefer a greater level of flexibility in their work lives.
BYOD policies are also benefiting companies by saving them money on their mobile bills – around 18% of respondents pay their own mobile data bills. However corporate security policies need to catch up to the BYOD era - 25% of businesses are still failing to demand security features on their employees’ devices.