Ipsos Mori 4th Annual SMB Survey - Results for Switzerland
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Ipsos MORI interviewed 5,555 employees of SMBs (Small to Medium-sized Businesses) in the following countries: Great Britain, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Greece, Norway and Finland. All participants fulfilled three key criteria: they worked for companies which were headquartered in these countries, they used some form of mobile computing and/or a computer at their place of work and they worked for companies that employ 250 people or fewer. Interviews were conducted online via the Ipsos Interactive panel between 9th January and 9th February 2015. Data are unweighted. Most important topics covered by the survey: Information overload Mobility Bring your own device Communication Responsiveness Productivity Business success IT for business Working everywhere Working anytime Devices for personal use Work-Life-Balance More information for SMB (in German): https://www.microsoft.com/de-ch/business/ More information for SMB (in French): https://www.microsoft.com/fr-ch/business/ More information for SMB (in English): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/business/
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Ipsos Mori 4th Annual SMB Survey - Results for Switzerland
- 2. Ipsos Mori Methodology All participants fulfilled three key criteria: they worked for companies which were headquartered in these countries, they used some form of mobile computing and/or a computer at their place of work and they worked for companies that employ 250 people or fewer. Interviews were conducted online via the Ipsos Interactive panel between 9th January and 9th February 2015. Data are unweighted. 250 Ipsos MORI interviewed 5,555 employees of SMBs (Small to Medium-sized Businesses) in the following countries: Great Britain, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Greece, Norway and Finland.
- 3. Snapshot of SMB Workers
- 4. 4% spend over 60 minutes commuting to and from work each day 9% Work 51+ hrs per week 84% say they are contactable by work outside working hours
- 5. SMB Workers receive an average of 16work emails per day & an average of 16personal emails per day
- 6. Information overload 12% agree always overloaded with emails and information 62% disagree that this is the case
- 8. Mobility
- 9. The Mobile Revolution 25% of SMBs that use mobile services more intensively see their revenues growing up to 2x faster and add jobs up to 8x faster than their peers Greater mobile adoption by SMEs can create jobs. If more SMEs expand their businesses at the rate of the mobile leaders, 7million more jobs could be added in the six countries evaluated. Boston Consulting Group https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/telecommunicati ons_technology_business_transformation_mobile_revolution/
- 10. Mobility not yet the new normal 31% say they don't need to be present to get their work done 69% say yes they need to be present to get their jobs done
- 12. It is not possible to work remotely My work is attendance based 38% 55%
- 13. 46% 42% 40% 100% I can choose where I get my work done I can choose when I get my work done I regularly do additional work outside of normal work hours
- 14. use desktop computer laptop smartphone tablet The devices they use for work
- 15. 59% 63% 63% 65% 70% 74% 74% 75% 76% 77% 78% 78% 79% 81% 82% 82% 85% Finland Denmark Norway Sweden Great… Europe Netherla… Poland Belgium Hungary Switzerla… Ukraine Italy Romania Czech… Spain Greece Desktop Computer 62% 59% 62% 58% 56% 59% 51% 61% 56% 53% 59% 65% 63% 67% 56% 54% 66% Laptop Smartphone 59% 47% 50% 58% 39% 44% 41% 40% 42% 38% 43% 42% 50% 38% 30% 55% 51% iPad / Tablet 20% 27% 24% 21% 23% 22% 22% 15% 22% 9% 28% 19% 34% 19% 12% 27% 31%
- 16. Start Start 10% Use all 4 devices – desktop, laptop, tablet & smartphone 9% use a smartphone & laptop only StartStart 29% use a desktop PC only 12% Use desktop, laptop, & smartphone
- 18. 4% 10% 13% 14% 15% 15% 16% 16% 18% 18% 19% 22% 23% 31% 31% 32% 36% 45% 38% 30% 24% 28% 43% 26% 25% 22% 34% 27% 30% 20% 19% 19% 16% 16% Ukraine Romania Switzer land Czech Republic Great Britain Greece Belgium Hungary Nether lands Poland Europe Italy Spain Finland Norway Denmark Sweden Personal Smartphone Employer owned Smartphone
- 19. Impact of mobile technology Helps me save time & boosts productivity so that I can better balance work & family or personal life Makes me more productive when out of the office Takes quality time away from my personal life as it makes it harder to escape work Makes work more demanding as there's an overload of too much information and email 47% 17% 46% 22% 38% 31% 42% 24% agree agree agree agree disagreedisagreedisagreedisagree
- 20. Getting things done at work
- 21. 68% say email is most important to get the job done 59% say phonecalls 57% Face to face meetings Communicating
- 22. 55% 60% 60% 61% 63% 63% 64% 67% 68% 68% 68% 70% 71% 71% 71% 71% 83% Poland Denmark Norway Spain Czech Republic Romania Sweden Europe Hungary Nether lands Switzer land Greece Belgium Great Britain Italy Ukraine Finland 60% 42% 43% 49% 57% 57% 51% 53% 62% 56% 59% 51% 55% 49% 53% 62% 56% 66% 56% 66% 33% 50% 61% 57% 49% 54% 24% 57% 55% 39% 48% 33% 54% 29%
- 25. A ‘productive’ day at work means… ticking off everything on 'to-do' list leaving work on time generate new business zero email in inbox helping out co-workers feel like they have an impact attending all meetings
- 26. 38% 47% 57% 38% 31% 50% 45% 30% 31% 42% 48% 57% 35% 58% 44% 70% 47% 77% 77% 77% 77% 79% 81% 82% 82% 83% 83% 83% 83% 84% 84% 85% 86% 89% Czech Republic Nether lands Spain Sweden Finland Switzer land Europe Norway Denmark Great Britain Greece Ukraine Belgium Hungary Italy Poland Romania
- 28. Keeping up with it all 28% eat lunch away from their desk 35% drink coffee 37% take regular breaks 10% get some exercise
- 29. 3% 3% 5% 5% 6% 7% 7% 7% 7% 8% 8% 8% 8% 8% 10% 11% 11% 31% 36% 21% 27% 35% 23% 25% 33% 50% 17% 29% 33% 36% 37% 19% 24% 25% 14% 18% 24% 19% 18% 19% 13% 11% 20% 23% 18% 18% 18% 28% 9% 19% 18% 7% 4% 5% 4% 6% 6% 4% 7% 4% 4% 6% 4% 6% 11% 18% 6% 4% Spain Poland Denmark Nether lands Czech Republic Belgium Ukraine Italy Finland Norway Europe Hungary Sweden Switzer land Greece Romania Great Britain Skip lunch Eat lunch at my desk Eat lunch away from my desk Eat lunch out at a café or restaurant Lunch habits
- 30. 7% 7% 10% 11% 13% 19% 22% 22% 23% 24% 24% 25% 25% 27% 27% 32% 40% 21% 26% 17% 10% 18% 30% 17% 14% 21% 9% 12% 14% 11% 22% 12% 17% 20% 11% 15% 12% 16% 0 1% 7% 3% 6% 14% 5% 5% 7% 14% 4% 4% 5% 5% 4% 10% 7% 4% 4% 4% 2% 9% 3% 2% 3% 7% 2% 6% 3% 2% Spain Sweden Italy Switzer land Denmark Norway Europe Nether lands Romania Czech Republic Poland Belgium Hungary Finland Greece Great Britain Ukraine Take regular breaks to recharge Get some exercise Take naps Meditate Well-being
- 31. 21% 29% 32% 35% 35% 36% 36% 37% 38% 39% 40% 40% 45% 48% 51% 51% 57% 35% 30% 15% 41% 43% 36% 41% 31% 26% 31% 35% 27% 48% 39% 38% 29% 24% Spain Italy Great Britain Denmark Switzer land Belgium Ukraine Czech Republic Nether lands Europe Norway Sweden Finland Romania Greece Poland Hungary Socialize with colleagues Drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages Social at work
- 32. Business Success
- 33. Use of IT by SMBs We're updating our processes and putting them online Almost paperless, very connected online and a lot of our processes are automated High volumes of paper in our day to day work and most of our processes are offline 22% 40% 23% 18% 44% 25%
- 34. 13% 16% 17% 18% 19% 22% 22% 23% 24% 24% 24% 24% 25% 27% 27% 31% 31% 47% 36% 34% 42% 36% 40% 29% 50% 44% 50% 33% 37% 44% 45% 42% 41% 36% 21% 28% 24% 17% 25% 23% 33% 21% 18% 15% 33% 28% 18% 18% 26% 17% 20% Denmark Sweden Norway Netherlands Great Britain Europe Finland Greece Belgium Czech Republic Italy Spain Switzerland Romania Ukraine Hungary Poland We're almost paperless, very connected online and a lot of our processes are automated and online We're updating our processes and putting them online, but we still use paper for some processes We use high volumes of paper in our day to day work and most of our processes are offline Use of IT by SMBs
- 35. Benefits of IT… Better service for customers 25% improved productivity 32% Faster access to critical info 23% Closer to customers 20% Anytime, anywhere work 16% improved security 29% 13% 29% Greater internal communication & collaboration 22% 27% 17% 19% 32% Have Resulted Would Achieve
- 36. Priority for the Business 36% 24% 24% 30% 15%
- 37. 46% 46% 45% 43% 39% 34% 33% 31% 30% 27% 25% 24% 24% 24% 21% 20% 18% Greece Romania Ukraine Italy Hungary Poland Czech Republic Europe Spain Great Britain Belgium Sweden Norway Switzerland Denmark Finland Netherlands Think it’s a priority to use technology to reduce costs
- 38. Make their job easier …and for the employees Make them more productive
- 40. 28% 30% 34% 8% Sometimes Regularly Only Occasionally Never 25% 49% Flexible work week Too much work to do Clients expect it Fits my life better 34% 23%
- 41. 14% 16% 16% 16% 16% 17% 17% 20% 22% 23% 26% 26% 27% 27% 28% 33% 40% Finland Czech Republic Poland Spain Ukraine Italy Romania Sweden Hungary Europe Great Britain Nether lands Denmark Norway Switzer land Greece Belgium 14%6% 9% 12% 4% 7% 7% 14%6% 9% 11% 12% 9% 7% 8% 5% 9%
- 42. Remote Desktop Cloud service Personal Email Transfer Cloud File Transfer Yes my company is aware that I access files by using my personal mail or cloud file transfer 45% 40% 34% 19%
- 43. 29% 29% 33% 34% 34% 35% 39% 40% 40% 40% 45% 46% 47% 47% 49% 50% 52% Czech Republic Belgium Poland Ukraine Romania Great Britain Nether lands Europe Switzer land Denmark Norway Hungary Finland Sweden Spain Greece Italy Email Cloud Service 39% 21% 47% 60% 50% 24% 20% 29% 34% 14% 16% 27% 29% 16% 32% 47% 31% Transfer through personal email 14% 18% 18% 22% 23% 22% 19% 21% 19% 13% 18% 19% 33% 19% 20% 28% 31% Transfer through cloud service
- 44. Getting work done: anytime, anywhere 4% during the commute (public transport) 24% first thing in the morning 22% right after the evening meal 17% while on holiday
- 45. 9% 9% 9% 13% 14% 14% 15% 16% 17% 17% 19% 19% 19% 21% 22% 24% 24% Hungary Finland Norway Sweden Czech Republic Poland Spain Romania Europe Denmark Greece Italy Great Britain Nether lands Switzer land Ukraine Belgium 17% 17% 15% 23% 24% 16% 21% 32% 21% 15% 21% 24% 22% 13% 24% 23% 24% 3% 5% 1% 3% 4% 6% 7% 14% 6% 2% 19% 7% 3% 5% 6% 6% 5%
- 46. Home Office Commute Meeting AsleepShower Inspiration comes best ‘unplugged’ Car
- 47. It’s not just work…
- 48. Work devices but for personal use… 62% 38% 1 x week Every Day Every other Day Once a Month or less 97% 3% 73% 10% 14% No Yes Once a month or more Those who use an employer-owned device for work say they use it for social networking, gaming, online shopping or personal email.
- 49. No Hard Drive In the Cloud Have their data backed-up…
- 51. …with their manager’s consent 63%12% 8% 1% 2% 3% 3% 2% 3% 4% 4% 4% 3% 5% 5% 6% 8% 7% 7% 10% 1% 2% 1% 3% 4% 4% 3% 4% 4% 5% 5% 6% 6% 4% 6% 6% 8% Norway Denmark Finland Nether lands Sweden Belgium Great Britain Europe Hungary Ukraine Czech Republic Romania Spain Switzer land Greece Poland Italy Not allowed & have to keep it secret Not allowed and social media, gaming, shopping sites are blocked Have manager’s approval Outside of regular working hours Not allowed but do it anyway
- 52. What’s most important for employees… 69% 67% 62% 61%
- 53. Work/life balance Job Security Salary Promotion Prospects 64% 65% 66% 66% 67% 70% 71% 72% 73% 74% 74% 76% 76% 79% 82% 82% 87% Norway Denmark Sweden Ukraine Switzer land Nether lands Great Britain Czech Republic Europe Finland Italy Belgium Spain Poland Hungary Greece Romania 70% 63% 67% 66% 69% 62% 64% 85% 72% 69% 75% 73% 73% 87% 83% 79% 85% 63% 52% 59% 89% 62% 60% 58% 83% 71% 63% 79% 70% 75% 88% 86% 86% 88% 18% 11% 26% 56% 30% 24% 23% 28% 37% 29% 52% 36% 40% 58% 50% 59% 73%
- 54. An extra hour in the day… Work Family Health Relax Social PetsSleep
Editor's Notes
- Q.8a On an average day, how many minutes, in total, do you spend commuting TO work? Q.9 On average, how many hours do you work per week? (37 hours per week is average) Q.14a Are you contactable by your work outside of normal working hours? Q8. Three-quarters (75%) of the SMB employees surveyed take between 0-30 minutes to commute to work: a slightly smaller proportion (73%) complete their commute home in this time. Over a third (36%) take no more than ten minutes to commute to work on an average day, while a similar proportion (35%) take ten minutes or less to commute home from work. Only a small proportion (4%) say it takes them over an hour to commute to work; the same proportion (4%) say it takes them at least an hour to commute home. Greek (35%), Swedish (36%), Italian (35%) and Swiss (36%) employees are more likely than the average European employee (29%) to have a commute to work of 0-10 minutes. In contrast, Finnish (24%) and Ukrainian (15%) employees are much less likely than average to have a commute to work of this duration. The commute from home is similar; Swedish (36%) and Swiss (35%) employees are much more likely than the average (28%) employee to have a commute from work of 0-10 minutes. Likewise, Finnish (23%) and Ukrainian (14%) employees are much less likely than average to have such a short commute from work. Q9. The Swiss SMB employees surveyed work, on average, 38 hours a week. Fewer that one in ten (9%) works a 51+ hour average week, although this rises to almost one in seven (15%) amongst employees of ‘micro’ SMEs (1-9 employees). These averages are based on the midpoints of scales used in the question. Respondents were asked to respond using a scale rather than providing an exact number. Greek (23%), Romanian (15%), Ukrainian (15%) and Belgian (13%) SMB employees are more likely to work 51 hours or more each week than the average (9%) across Europe. Danish (6%), Dutch (6%), Spanish (6%), British (6%), Swedish (5%) and Finnish (5%) are less likely than average to have a long working week of over 51 hours. These averages are based on the midpoints of scales used in the question. Respondents were asked to respond using a scale rather than providing an exact number. Q14a. Over four in five (84%) SMB employees are contactable by their work outside of their normal working hours. Q14b. Of these employees, half (50%) don’t mind being contactable by work outside of normal hours, but only in emergencies; a third (33%) don’t mind at all; while a few (8%), in contrast, state that they don’t like it, as it has a negative effect on their personal life. Ukrainian SMB employees are the most likely (95%) to be contactable outside of work hours, while Italian employees (70%) are comparatively least likely. Of those contactable outside normal hours, Ukrainian and Italian workers are most likely (39% and 34% respectively) to prefer this, as it gives them flexibility to manage their lives. Relative to the European average, Spanish SMB employees are most likely to dislike being contacted outside of work as it has a negative effect on their personal lives (18% vs. 10% overall).
- Q.10a On an average day how many WORK emails do you receive? Q.10b On an average day how many PERSONAL emails do you receive? Q10. Over four in five (83%) received between 0-25 work emails in an average day. The average number of emails received each day is 16. The average number of personal emails received each day is also 16. As with work emails, over four in five (85%) receive between 0-25 personal emails in an average day. The average number of work emails received on an average day is highest in Great Britain (where employees receive 24 emails on average per day) and lowest in the Czech Republic (where the average number of work emails received is 12). Overall, across the 16 European markets, the average number of work emails received each day is 19. Overall, SMB employees receive 18 personal emails on average each day. Workers in Italy (25), Romania (24) and Great Britain (23) receive the highest number of personal emails each day compared to the average. In contrast, workers in Norway (11) and Sweden (11) receive comparatively few personal emails each day. Switzerland Q8. Three-quarters (75%) of the SMB employees surveyed take between 0-30 minutes to commute to work: a slightly smaller proportion (73%) complete their commute home in this time. Over a third (36%) take no more than ten minutes to commute to work on an average day, while a similar proportion (35%) take ten minutes or less to commute home from work. Only a small proportion (4%) say it takes them over an hour to commute to work; the same proportion (4%) say it takes them at least an hour to commute home. Q9. The Swiss SMB employees surveyed work, on average, 38 hours a week. Fewer that one in ten (9%) works a 51+ hour average week, although this rises to almost one in seven (15%) amongst employees of ‘micro’ SMEs (1-9 employees). These averages are based on the midpoints of scales used in the question. Respondents were asked to respond using a scale rather than providing an exact number. Q14a. Over four in five (84%) SMB employees are contactable by their work outside of their normal working hours.
- Q.22 Thinking about the information you receive at work, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: I am always overloaded with emails and information Those who agree they are always overloaded with emails and information are notably more likely to be using laptops, smartphones and iPads/tablets than is average. The same is not true for PC/desktops. (Q4) Switzerland Q22. Only around one in eight (12%) of participants agree that they are ‘always overloaded with emails and information’: the majority (62%) disagree.
- Q.22 Thinking about the information you receive at work, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: I am always overloaded with emails and information Employees in Greece (47%), Italy (35%) and Romania (34%) are more likely than average to agree that they are always overloaded with emails and information. Those who agree they are always overloaded with emails and information are notably more likely to be using laptops, smartphones and iPads/tablets than is average. The same is not true for PC/desktops.
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that adopt advanced mobile technologies are the fastest growing. SMEs that are mobile leaders are winning. Typically, the 25 percent of SMEs that use mobile services more intensively see their revenues growing up to two times faster and add jobs up to eight times faster than their peers. The mobile laggards among SMEs have revenue growth and job creation that substantially lag behind the leaders. With fewer plans to invest in mobile, these SMEs are at risk of being left further behind. SME mobile leaders in emerging markets are leapfrogging older generations of technology still widely used in developed markets. The share of mobile leaders in Brazil, China, and India exceeds that in the developed countries examined. Greater mobile adoption by SMEs can create jobs. If more SMEs expand their businesses at the rate of the mobile leaders, 7 million more jobs could be added in the six countries evaluated.
- Q.12a Is it necessary for you to be present in the office or your place of work for you to get your work done? Switzerland Q12a. Seven in ten (69%) of the SMB employees surveyed say it is necessary for them to be present in the office or their place of work to get their work done.
- Q12a. Employees in Poland (76%), the Czech Republic (74%) and Romania (81%) are the most likely to need to be present in their office or place of work to get their work done. Compared to the average, Norwegian (49%) and Ukrainian (48%) are least likely to be required to be present at their place of work. Q12b. Of those who need to be present in the workplace, Hungarian (79%) and Spanish (76%) are considerably more likely to have jobs that are attendance based and need to work from their place of work within designated hours. British (43%) and Belgian (40%) SMB employees are least likely to say this. In the case of the latter, over half (56%) say that they need to be present in the workplace as it is not possible to work remotely. The same is true of Swedish SMB employees (51%). Q12c. Among those who say it is not necessary to be present in the workplace, Romanian SMB employees are most likely to say they can choose where they get their work done (66% vs. 51% overall). Overall, Polish workers who aren’t required to be present in the office are the most likely to be able to choose when they work; nearly half (49%) are able to do so, compared with just over a third (34%) overall. Switzerland: Q12a. Seven in ten (69%) of the SMB employees surveyed say it is necessary for them to be present in the office or their place of work to get their work done. Q12b. Of those employees who say it is necessary for them to be present at their place of work, a majority (55%) say it is because their work is attendance-based and they need to work designated hours, while almost two in five (38%) say they need to be present at their place of work as they cannot work remotely. Q12c. Amongst those employees who say it is not necessary for them to be present at their place of work, a little under half (46%) state that this is because they can choose where they get their work done, while slightly fewer (42%) say it is because they can choose when they get their work done. Two in five (40%) say that it is not necessary for them to be present at their place of work, to get their work done, as they regularly work outside normal work hours, away from the office.
- Q.12b Which of the following statements, if any, best explain why is it necessary for you to be present in the office or your place of work for you to get your work done? Q12b – Six in ten (59%) of those who say it is necessary for them to be present say this is because their work is attendance-based and they need to work within designated hours. Four in ten (37%) say it is not possible for them to work remotely while two in ten (19%) say they need to be close to their manager and colleagues. Yes it is necessary to be present in the office Manufacturing/production (68%), construction/ real estate (52%), financial banking/insurance (58%) It is not possible to work remotely: manufacturing/production (60%), construction/real estate (55%), financial banking insurance (58%), business services (56%) My work is attendance based and need to work from place of work within designated working hours 41% manufacturing production, 55% construction/real estate, 31% banking/financial/insurance Switzerland: Q12b. Of those employees who say it is necessary for them to be present at their place of work, a majority (55%) say it is because their work is attendance-based and they need to work designated hours, while almost two in five (38%) say they need to be present at their place of work as they cannot work remotely.
- Q.12c Which of the following statements, if any, best explain why it is not necessary for you to be present in the office or your place of work for you to get your work done? Europe Q12c – Half (51%) of those who say it is not necessary for them to be present say this is because they can choose where they get their work done. A third (34%) say they can choose when they do their work and a smaller proportion (29%) say they regularly do more work out of normal work hours from outside of their office. Switzerland: Q12c. Amongst those employees who say it is not necessary for them to be present at their place of work, a little under half (46%) state that this is because they can choose where they get their work done, while slightly fewer (42%) say it is because they can choose when they get their work done. Two in five (40%) say that it is not necessary for them to be present at their place of work, to get their work done, as they regularly work outside normal work hours, away from the office.
- Q.4 Which of the following forms of information technology (IT) do you use to carry out your work? Switzerland: Q4. PCs and desktop computers are the forms of IT most commonly used by Swiss SMB employees to carry out their work, with over three quarters (78%) saying that they use this technology. Laptops are used by around three in five employees (59%), although they are almost twice as likely to be used by those who regularly work outside their standard hours (80%) than those who never do (48%). Smartphones are used to carry out work by just over two in five (43%), while iPads or tablets are used by a little over a quarter (28%).
- Employees in southern and eastern European markets (Spain, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic and Romania) are significantly more likely than the average European employee (74%) to be using a PC/desktop computer to carry out their work. In contrast, Scandinavian employees (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland) are much less likely than average to be using these; instead, they (all but Denmark) are significantly more likely than average to be using smartphones for work.
- Overall, just over one in ten (12%) employees use a PC, laptop and a smartphone. By comparison, one in ten (10%) employees across Europe use a PC, laptop, smartphone and a tablet/iPad for work. Employees in Greece (19%) and Ukraine (also 17%) are more likely to use four devices than the European average (12%), while Dutch (8%) and British (also 8%) workers are least likely to use all four devices at work. Italy (17%) and Ukraine (17%) most likely to use three devices.
- Q.28 Which of the following personal and work devices do you use for work? Switzerland Q28. Just over half (53%) of participants report that they use an employer-owned PC for work, which is more than double the proportion that use a personal PC for work (23%). However, with regards to laptops and smartphones, the devices used for work are more likely to be owned by the employee than the employer. Three in ten (30%) use a personal laptop, while just a quarter (25%) use an employer-owned laptop; while less than one in eight (13%) use an employer-owned smartphone for work, compared to the almost one in three (32%) who use a personal smartphone for work purposes.
- Q.37 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about mobile technology and its impact on your work and your ability to maintain a work/life balance? a) Mobile technology helps me save time and boosts productivity so that I can better balance work and family or personal life Switzerland Q37. Almost half (47%) of the employees surveyed agree that mobile technology helps them save time and boosts productivity, allowing them to better balance their work and personal lives: this rises to seven in ten (70%) amongst those who work for almost paperless companies, who conduct most of their work online. Levels of agreement with the statement that mobile technology makes workers more productive, as it means their commute to work is no longer ‘dead time’, is broadly consistent with the above, with again a little under half in agreement (46%). However, in contrast to this, over two in five (42%) agree that mobile technology makes work more demanding, as there is an overload of email and information; and a similar proportion (38%) agree that mobile technology takes quality time away from their personal lives, by making it harder to escape work.
- Q.20 Which of the following communications tools or techniques do you think are the most useful for you to get your job done? Q20 – Email is by far considered to be the most useful communications tool for helping European employees get their work done; over two-thirds (67%) say so. Just over half (53%) say phone calls are useful while just under half (49%) say they find face to face meetings to be of use. A third (33%) cite software applications for work processes and tasks as useful communications tools. Finnish employees are most likely to believe email is the most useful communication tool at work (83%). Phone calls are most likely to be regarded as useful by SMB employees in Poland (60%), Hungary (62%) and the Ukraine (62%). Polish and Norwegian SMB employees are most likely to feel face to face meetings are useful for getting their job done. Switzerland Q20. Over two-thirds (68%) of the employees surveyed view email as a useful communication tool for getting their job done, while just under three in five think the same of phone calls (59%) and face to face meetings (57%). Interestingly, face to face communication is far more likely to be considered useful by those employees whose companies do most of their work online (69%) than amongst those employees whose companies only conduct some of their processes online (51%): perhaps face to face meetings provide a valued, refreshing change for employees who spend most of their time in online communications.
- Q.11a In general, how quickly are you expected to respond to work emails from customers or clients? Q.11b In general, how quickly are you expected to respond to work emails from work colleagues? Generally, European employees are expected to reply to emails from work colleagues faster than they are to emails from clients/customers. Q11a – The largest proportion (38%) of European employees say they are expected to respond to work emails from customers or clients within 1 day. This figure rises (to 42%) amongst those employees working for companies which are currently updating their IT processes. The second largest proportion (21%) says they are expected to respond to customer/client emails within 1 hour, followed by the third largest proportion (19%) who says within 4 hours. Both of these figures increase (to 25% and 22%, respectively) amongst those employees who work in organisations which are almost paperless and function largely online. Q11b –Three in ten (31%) employees say they are expected to reply to work colleagues within 1 hour and this applies more so to younger than older employees. A similar proportion (29%) say they are expected to reply within 1 day, followed by two in ten (21%) who say the expectation is to reply within 4 hours. Older employees are more likely to say they are expected to reply within 1 day than their younger colleagues. There appears to be a greater sense of urgency (expected to reply within 1 hour) amongst those who agree they are always overloaded with emails and information (35%) and those who work in organisations which function largely online (34%), than is average (31%). Switzerland Q11a. Around half (52%) of participants say they are expected to respond to work emails from customers or clients within a day. Fewer than one in five (17%) say they are expected to respond to such emails within an hour. Q11b. In contrast, almost three in ten (29%) SMB employees report that they are expected to respond to emails from work colleagues within an hour.
- Q.11a In general, how quickly are you expected to respond to work emails from customers or clients? Employees working in Switzerland (52%), Finland (47%) and Belgium (44%) are significantly more likely than the average European employee (38%) to say they are expected to reply to work emails from customer/clients within 1 day. The opposite is true for British (33%), Italian (32%) and Spanish (28%) employees; they much less likely than average (38%) to say they are expected to reply within1 day. Scandinavian employees, along with Italians (12%) and Belgians (14%), are the least likely of all employees to say they are expected to respond to clients/customers within 1 hour. In contrast, it is eastern (Ukraine - 40%, Poland - 28%, Romania - 32%) and southern (Greece – 31%, Spain – 36%) European employees who drive the average figure for this upwards; these employees are most likely to say they are expected to respond within 1 hour. Q.11b In general, how quickly are you expected to respond to work emails from work colleagues? When analysing the European data as a whole, distinct regional differences come to the fore. Eastern (Ukraine – 48%, Poland – 37%, Czech Republic – 45%, Romania – 44%) and southern (Greece -40%, Spain – 37%) European employees are significantly more likely than the average European employee (31%) to say they are expected to reply to work colleagues within 1 hour. In contrast, Western European (Belgium – 20% , Netherlands - 24% , Great Britain – 27%) and Scandinavian (Denmark – 18%, Sweden - 23%, Norway – 25%, Finland – 22%) employees are significantly less likely than average (31%) to say this is the case. Those who are expected to reply to work colleagues within 1 day (29% average) are driven largely by Belgian (39%) and Swiss (38%) employees. Greek (24%), Italian (23%) and British (26%) employees are significantly less likely than the average European employee (29%) to say they are expected to reply within 1 day.
- Q.19 How important or unimportant are the following things for you to feel that you have had a productive day at work? Attending all the meetings in my calendar Q19 – Feeling like they have had an impact on their role or organisation (82% important), ticking everything off on their ‘to do’ list (80%) and helping out co-workers (78%) are deemed to be the most important aspects (from a pre-defined list) of the job for European employees. Attending all the meetings in their calendar (61%) and generating new business (59%) are deemed to be important by roughly three-fifths. The job aspects European employees perceive to be of least importance are leaving work on time (54%) and having zero email in their inbox at the end of the day (45%). Switzerland Q19. Feeling like they have had an impact on their role or organisation is very or fairly important to over four in five (81%) SMB employees, when considering what makes them feel they have had a productive day at work. Around three-quarters place importance, in this context, on ticking everything off their ‘to do’ list (76%) and helping out co-workers (75%), while just under two-thirds of employees (64%) assign importance to generating new business. About half of those surveyed view having zero emails in their inbox at the end of the day (50%) and attending all the meetings in their calendar (49%) as important, in feeling they have had a productive day at work, while just two in five (40%) consider leaving work on time to be important to achieving this feeling.
- While feeling like they’ve had an impact on their role or organisation is a universally important part of being productive at work for SMB employees in Europe, Romanian employees (89%) are significantly more likely to see this as important. Relative to the other markets overall, Czech employees are more likely to see this as an unimportant (22%) consideration in terms of productivity. Ticking everything off on their ‘to do’ list is most notably seen as an important aspect of productivity among SMB employees in Ukraine (95%), Poland (95%), Romania (95%), Greece (93%), Italy (89%), Spain (86%) and Hungary (86%). It is most likely to be seen as relatively unimportant in Norway (38%), Denmark (36%), Sweden (32%), Finland (26%) and Switzerland (23%). Helping out co-workers is seen as an especially important facet of productivity in Romania (88%), the Netherlands (86%), Poland (84%) and Norway (83%). However, employees in the Ukraine (41%) and Czech Republic (25%) are more likely than employees in other markets to regard this as unimportant. Ukrainian (81%), Romanian (81%), Polish (79%), Spanish (70%) and Hungarian (69%) employees are significantly more likely than average to see attending all the meetings in their calendar as very or fairly important. In contrast, Belgian (45%) and Dutch (53%) employees are most likely to regard this as unimportant. Greek (81%), Romanian (80%) , Ukrainian (80%), Polish (72%), Hungarian (69%), Italian (68%) and Spanish (67%) are significantly more likely to feel generating new business is important in productivity terms than all 16 markets overall. On the other hand, this is more likely to be seen as unimportant in Finland (46%), the Czech Republic (41%), the Netherlands (40%), Sweden (40%) and Britain (40%). Spanish (67%), Greek (63%), Romanian (61%) and Swedish (61%) employees are more likely to regard leaving work on time as an important factor in staying productive than other markets overall. Swiss (59%), Norwegian (52%), Ukrainian (52%), Belgian (52%) and Danish (51%) employees are more likely to see this as an unimportant consideration. Polish employees are most likely to see having zero email in their inbox at the end of the day as important (70%). Similarly, Ukrainian (57%), Spanish (57%) and Hungarian (58%) are significantly more likely than average to regard this as important if they are to feel productive at work.
- Q23 – Fewer distractions (29%) and fewer administrative tasks (26%) are the most frequently selected options from a pre-determined list that employees think would help them be more productive at work. Just under a quarter say their productivity would be boosted with better software applications and technology (23%) and having clearer priorities (also 23%). Around a fifth say more effective meetings (21%) and being able to work flexibly from different places (also 21%) would be key to enabling employees to work more productively. Employees in the Ukraine (51%), Finland (48%), Sweden (38%) and Denmark (36%) are most likely to believe having fewer distractions would help them be more productive at work. Czech (40%), Belgian (40%) and Hungarian (38%) employees are more likely than employees across Europe to feel that having fewer administrative tasks would boost their productivity at work. Having better software applications and technology is most likely to be regarded as useful by workers in Greece (38%), Romania (33%), Ukraine (31%) and Hungary (30%). Meanwhile, Greek and Romanian employees stand out as advocates of the benefits of having clearer priorities at work (41% and 36%). Q16 – From a pre-determined list, and when asked to choose what would make their job easier, the most popular option amongst European SMB employees is a more flexible work culture (14%). Slightly fewer say new or smarter software tools and applications would help (13%) and the same proportion say fewer distractions (13%) would be key. 12 per cent say a better work environment would make their job easier. There are few stand-out differences in perceptions of what would be most likely to help make their jobs easier across the 16 markets, with most mentions being in line with the top 4 mentions overall. Switzerland Q23. When asked which things, from a pre-defined list, would help make them more productive at work, participants are more likely to offer an answer: three in ten (30%) say fewer administrative tasks; while just under a quarter choose more effective meetings (24%) and fewer distractions (23%). Q16. From a pre-defined list, there is no clear consensus, amongst the SMB employees surveyed, on what would be most likely to make their job easier. A more flexible work culture (13%), new or smarter software tools or applications (11%) and a better work environment (also 11%) are all chosen around one in ten. However, a greater proportion, around one in six (16%), say they don’t know what would make their job easier.
- Q.21 Which of the following things do you do to stay productive during your work day? Q21 – Drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages is what four in ten (39%) European employees say they do in order to stay productive during their work day. This figure rises (to 42%) amongst those working for companies which are currently updating their processes. Three in ten (31%) employees say they socialise with colleagues and a similar proportion (29%) say they take regular breaks to recharge. Two in ten (22%) eat lunch at their desk in order to stay productive. Interestingly 18 per cent say they don’t need any help getting everything done. Switzerland: Q21. Socialising with colleagues is the most popular activity for Swiss SMB employees aiming to stay productive during the work day (43%), although less so amongst employees of ‘micro’ SMEs (31%). Taking regular breaks to recharge (37%), drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages (35%) and eating lunch away from their desks (28%) are also popular among Swiss SMB workers.
- Spanish (21%), Italian (29%) and British (32%) employees are much less likely than the average European employee (39%) to drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages in order to stay productive. Employees in Poland (51%), Hungary (57%), Greece (51%), Romania (48%) and Finland (45%), however, are much more likely. Ukrainian employees (27%) are the only market who are much more likely than the average European employee (18%) to say they don’t need any help getting everything done. All others are about average.
- Q.26 Please think about how your company uses information technology for managing internal and external processes around Marketing, Sales, Finances and Human Resources. Which statement below, if any, best describes how your company uses information technology? Q26 - Four in ten (40%) European employees work for organisations which are currently updating their processes and putting them online, though which still use paper for some processes. Similar proportions work in organisations which are almost paperless and very connected online (23%) or use high volumes of paper, functioning largely offline (22%). Switzerland Q26. Over two in five (44%) SMB employees say that their company is updating its processes and putting them online, but still use paper for some processes; while a quarter (25%) report that their company uses high volumes of paper, with most of its processes conducted offline. Meanwhile, only around one in five (18%) employees say that their company is almost paperless, with most processes automated and online.
- Q26. Please think about how your company uses information technology for managing internal and external processes around Marketing, Sales, Finances and Human Resources. Which statement below, if any, best describes how your company uses information technology? Those more likely than the average European employee (40%) to be working for a company which is currently updating its processes are those from: the Czech Republic (50%), Greece (50%) and Denmark (47%). It is the Italians (33%) and the Finnish (33%) who are more likely than average (23%) to be working in companies which are almost paperless and very connected online. Hungarian (31%) and Polish (31%) employees are more likely than average (22%) to be working in companies which use high volumes of paper.
- Q.25a Thinking of your company specifically, which of the following benefits, if any, have resulted from the information technologies your company uses? Q.25b If your company invested in the latest information technologies, which of the following do you think it would achieve, as a result? Switzerland Q25a. When asked to identify which benefits have resulted from the IT their company uses, almost a third (32%) of participants point to faster access to business-critical information. Around three in ten (29%) think their company’s IT has brought the benefit of greater internal communication, collaboration and sharing of knowledge, while the same proportion (29%) think it has produced a better service for their customers. Q25b. Just under a third (32%) of SMB employees think that investing in the latest IT would improve employee productivity in their company. Three in ten (29%) state that it would provide a better service for customers, and a slightly smaller proportion (27%) say it would allow faster access to business critical information.
- Q.24 Which of the following do you think should be a priority to help your business become more successful? Q24 – When thinking about what to prioritise in helping their business become more successful, employees are most likely to say connecting better with customers (35%). About three in ten say their business should use technology to enable business growth (32%) and use technology to reduce costs (31%). Over a fifth (22%) think their business should prioritise enabling employees to do business anywhere. Keeping their data protected is cited by the smallest proportion of employees (15%). When thinking of what should be a priority to help their business become more successful, Romanian (50%), Greek (46%), Spanish (46%), Finnish (42%) and Hungarian (41%) SMB employees are the most likely to see connecting better with their customers as a priority. Greek (56%) and Romanian (52%) employees are also more likely than average to believe using technology to drive business growth should be a priority, along with Italian (42%) workers. In terms of prioritising the use of technology to reduce costs, Greek (46%) and Romanian (46%) employees are again more likely than workers across the other markets to mention this, as are Ukrainian (45%) and Italian (43%) SMB employees. Switzerland Q24. There is a lack of consensus amongst SMB employees on what should be a priority, from a pre-defined list, to help their business become more successful. The most popular answer is that connecting better with customers should be a priority (36%): this answer is especially popular amongst those employees whose companies conduct a lot of their work online (52%). Elsewhere, three in ten (30%) say that enabling employees to do business anywhere should be a priority, while just under a quarter state that prioritising the use of technology to reduce costs (24%) and using technology to enable business growth (also 24%) would help their business become more successful.
- Q.24 Which of the following do you think should be a priority to help your business become more successful?
- Q.16 Which of the following things, if any, do you think would be MOST LIKELY to help make your job easier? Q16 – From a pre-determined list, and when asked to choose what would make their job easier, the most popular option amongst European SMB employees is a more flexible work culture (14%). Slightly fewer say new or smarter software tools and applications would help (13%) and the same proportion say fewer distractions (13%) would be key. 12 per cent say a better work environment would make their job easier. There are few stand-out differences in perceptions of what would be most likely to help make their jobs easier across the 16 markets, with most mentions being in line with the top 4 mentions overall. Q.23 Which of the following things do you think would help you be more productive at work? (multiple responses) Fewer distractions (29%) and fewer administrative tasks (26%) are the most frequently selected options from a pre-determined list that employees think would help them be more productive at work. Just under a quarter say their productivity would be boosted with better software applications and technology (23%) and having clearer priorities (also 23%). Around a fifth say more effective meetings (21%) and being able to work flexibly from different places (also 21%) would be key to enabling employees to work more productively. Employees in the Ukraine (51%), Finland (48%), Sweden (38%) and Denmark (36%) are most likely to believe having fewer distractions would help them be more productive at work. Czech (40%), Belgian (40%) and Hungarian (38%) employees are more likely than employees across Europe to feel that having fewer administrative tasks would boost their productivity at work. Having better software applications and technology is most likely to be regarded as useful by workers in Greece (38%), Romania (33%), Ukraine (31%) and Hungary (30%). Meanwhile, Greek and Romanian employees stand out as advocates of the benefits of having clearer priorities at work (41% and 36%). Switzerland Q16. From a pre-defined list, there is no clear consensus, amongst the SMB employees surveyed, on what would be most likely to make their job easier. A more flexible work culture (13%), new or smarter software tools or applications (11%) and a better work environment (also 11%) are all chosen around one in ten. However, a greater proportion, around one in six (16%), say they don’t know what would make their job easier. Q23. When asked which things, from a pre-defined list, would help make them more productive at work, participants are more likely to offer an answer: three in ten (30%) say fewer administrative tasks; while just under a quarter choose more effective meetings (24%) and fewer distractions (23%).
- Q13a As a rule, how often do you have to work outside of your regular or standard working hours? Q13b You mentioned that you regularly or sometimes have to work outside of your regular or standard working hours. Which of the following statements describe why you have to do this? Switzerland Q13a. Just over a quarter (28%) of the SMB employees surveyed report having to ‘regularly’ work outside their standard hours. Interestingly, this rises to nearly two in five (38%) for employees of ‘micro’ SMEs, but is only the case for one in five (20%) employees of ‘medium’ sized SMEs (50-250 employees). Three in ten (30%) participants say that they have to work outside their regular hours ‘sometimes’; a third (34%) have to do so ‘occasionally’; while a few (8%) have the luxury of ‘never’ having to work outside their standard hours. Q13b. Of those who have to regularly or sometimes work outside their standard hours, almost half (49%) say they do this as they have a flexible work week. Around a third (34%) say they have to do it as their clients expect them to be available: this is about twice as likely amongst employees who work for companies where a lot of the work is online (50%) than amongst employees of companies who conduct most of their work offline (26%).
- Belgian employees are the most likely (40%) to regularly work outside normal or standard hours. Of those regularly or sometimes working longer hours, Finnish employees are most likely to do so because they have a flexible working week (59%). Greek employees (53%) are most likely to work additional hours as they have too much work to do and need to work outside normal hours to keep up. Q15 – When asked to think about their work/life balance, two-thirds (65%) of employees say they agree that they have an adequate balance between their work and personal lives and half (51%) agree they have plenty of time for their personal life. About six in ten (58%) disagree that making room for their personal life is a problem (22% agree) and slightly fewer (55%) say they disagree with the statement ‘I do not consider my work and personal life separate as I get my work done anytime, anywhere’ (25% agree). Relative to other markets, Romanian employees are most likely to agree that making room for their personal lives is a problem. Nearly one in three (32%) agree, versus just over one in five (22%) overall. Swedish and Hungarian workers are most likely to disagree that they have an adequate work/life balance (24% and 23% respectively) and Greek employees are the most likely to disagree that they have plenty of time for their personal life (41%). Romanian employees are twice as likely to agree (52% vs. 25% overall) that they do not consider personal and work lives as separate, as they can get work done anytime, anywhere.
- Q.12d Which of the following ways do you access your work remotely? Q.12e Is your company aware that you access your work in this way? Switzerland Q12d. Over two in five (45%) of those who are able to work outside of the office or their place of work access their work on a computer at home with remote desktop connection. Two in five (40%) access their work using a smartphone, tablet/iPad or computer through a cloud service such as Google Apps or Office365; while around a third (34%) transfer files to a personal email which they can access from home. Q12e. Of those who access their work remotely via file transfer, be it through a cloud service or personal email, almost all (95%) say that their company is aware that they access their work in this way.
- Q12d. Of those who say it is not necessary for them to be present in their office, Belgian (53%), Italian (51%), Ukrainian (50%) and Swedish (50%) employees are more likely to use a remote desktop connection at home than employees in other markets. Italian (52%), Greek (50%), Spanish (49%), Swedish (47%), Finnish (47%) and Hungarian (46%) employees are most likely to access work remotely via smartphone, tablet or computer accessing email through a cloud service. Ukrainian employees are most likely to transfer files to personal email (60%) and Finnish workers are the most likely (33%) to use a file transfer service, such as OneDrive, to work remotely. Q12e. Of those accessing their work via file transfer using a cloud service or by email, Ukrainian employees are the most likely (14% vs. 4% overall) to say that their employer is not aware that they do this because they do anything to get work done.
- Q.31 Thinking about the increasing use of smartphones, tablets and laptops, which of the following situations, if any, best describe how you regularly get work done outside of the office/your place of work? Q31 – When asked to think about the increasing use of smartphones, tablets and laptops, a fifth (21%) of European employees say they regularly get work done out of the office ‘first thing in the morning.’ A similar proportion (20%) says this happens last thing at night before going to bed. ‘Right after the evening meal’ (20%) is also a popular time for getting work done as is while being on holiday (16%). Q32 – Three-quarters (75%) of European employees say their employer does not have a policy on sending or responding to out-of-office-hours emails. Over one in ten (14%) says their employer does have a policy while fewer (11%) say they don’t know if such a policy exists. Spanish (25%), Romanian (21%), Polish (26%) and Ukrainian (35%) employees are significantly more likely than the average employee (14%) to say their employer does have a policy for sending or responding to out-of-office- hours emails. Q33 – For the minority who say their employer does have a policy, over a third (36%) say they are encouraged to work or look at emails during out-of-office-hours. The same proportion (36%) says they are encouraged not to work or look at email during these hours but it is left up to the worker to decide. Under a fifth (17%) say they have rules to switch off work devices and avoid looking at work email. Employees in Ukraine (58%) and Romania (52%) are more likely than the average employee (36%) to say that their employer’s policy is that they are encouraged to work or look at email during out of office hours. Danish (48%) and Swedish (55%) are most likely to say they are encouraged not to work or look at email out of office hours, but that it is left up to the worker to decide. Switzerland Q31. In the context of an increasing use of devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, nearly a quarter (24%) say that, away from the office, they regularly get their work done first thing in the morning. Other popular times to get work done are right after the evening meal (22%), last thing before bed (17%), and while on vacation (also 17%). Q32. Only one in nine (11%) of the SMB employees surveyed report that their employer has a policy on responding to out-of-office-hours emails. Q33. Of this minority, almost half (47%) say that the policy encourages them not to look at their email out-of-office-hours, but it is left up to the worker to decide; a quarter (25%) state that there are rules in place instructing them to avoid looking at work emails out-of-office-hours; while just one in five (19%) say that their employer’s policy is to encourage them to look at their email while out of normal office hours.
- Romanian employees (32%) are the only group who are significantly more likely than average (21%) to say they get work done first thing in the morning. It is the Ukrainian (46%), Greek (25%) and Swedish (28%) employees however who are driving the overall average (20%) for those who get their work done last thing at night before going to bed.
- Q.36 Thinking about the best work-related idea you ever had, where were you when you thought of this great idea? Q36 – The largest proportion (23%) of European employees were at home when they thought of their best work-related idea. One in seven (14%) were at the office by themselves and just over one in ten (12%) were on their commute to work. One in ten exactly (10%) were in a meeting with others. Just 4% of employees say they have never had a good work-related idea while 14 per cent can’t remember where they were. Hungarian (35%), Ukrainian (34%) and Greek (30%) employees are far more likely than the average European employee (23%) to say they were at home when they thought of their best work-related idea. Employees in Greece (21%), Romania (21%), Italy(20%) and Finland (19%) are more likely than most to have been in the office by themselves while only Ukrainian (24%) employees are significantly more likely than the average employee (12%) to have been on their commute to work. Employees in Hungary (14%) and Norway (16%) are much more likely than the average employee (10%) to have been in a meeting with others. Switzerland Q36. When asked to think where they were when they had their best-ever work-related idea, nearly a quarter (23%) of participants say they were at home. Other likely locations for SMB employees to have had such a great idea were: at the office by themselves (13%); at home asleep (10%); or on their commute to work (10%). Only a very few (3%) say they have never had a good work-related idea.
- Q.29a Do you use your employer-owned PC, laptop, mobile phone, iPad or tablet, or smartphone for social networking, gaming, online shopping or personal email? Q.29b How often do you use your employer-owned PC, laptop, iPad or tablet, or smartphone for social networking, gaming, online shopping or personal email? Q29a – Over half (56%) of those who use an employer-owned device for work say they use it for social networking, gaming, online shopping or personal email; 44 per cent say they do not. Q29b – A significant majority (68%) of those who use their employer-owned devices for personal use do so every day. Those employees who report above average (56%) levels of using their employer-owned devices for these activities are from the following countries: Ukraine (72%), Poland (64%), Hungary (67%), Italy (63%) and Finland (71%). Those employees who are much less likely than average to be doing these tasks are those from Denmark (46%), the Netherlands (48%), Spain (46%), Switzerland (38%) and Great Britain (47%). Switzerland Q29a. Amongst those who use an employer-owned device for work, just under two in five (38%) use it for social networking, gaming, online shopping or personal email. Q29b. Of these individuals, almost three quarters (73%) use the device for these purposes every day.
- Q.34 Which of the following personal tasks, if any, do you sometimes do during work hours (i.e. not during a break or at lunch)? Q34 – Almost four in ten (37%) employees say they sometimes visit non-work related sites during work hours (not during a break or at lunch), followed by a third (34%) who say they online bank. About three in ten say they sometimes send email to friends or share photos (28%) or social network (also 28%). Just over a fifth of employees say they sometimes shop online (22%), manage personal calendars or appointments (21%) or pop out for personal errands (21%) during work hours. Ukrainian (57%), Czech (45%), Greek (43%), Norwegian (44%) and Finnish (49%) employees are much more inclined than the average employee (37%) to say they sometimes visit non-work related websites during work hours. In contrast, employees in the Netherlands (28%), Spain (23%), Italy (28%), Switzerland (29%) and Great Britain (32%) are much less likely to visit these sites. Switzerland Q34. Managing personal calendars or appointments is the most popular personal task for Swiss SMB employees to do within work hours (34%). Other popular personal tasks are online banking (30%) and visiting non-work related websites (29%). However, almost three in ten (29%) state that they do none of the personal tasks, from the pre-defined list, within work hours. Q35. Of those who do at least one personal task during work hours, the majority (64%) say that their manager’s attitude towards this is that it is OK as long as it does not interfere with their workload. However, a few admit that their manager does not know they do these tasks within work hours (8%), or that it’s not allowed but people do it anyway (also 8%).
- Q35 – The vast majority (62%) of European employees who do at least one personal task during work hours say their manager’s attitude to this is that it is okay as long as it doesn’t interfere with their workload. Significantly fewer (11%) say it’s only okay outside of official working hours and a similar proportion (10%) say it’s not allowed but people do it anyway. Nine per cent of employees surveyed say their manager does not know they do these tasks during work hours. Czech employees (14%) are more likely than average (9%) to report that their manager does not know they do these tasks during work hours. Scandinavian employees (bar Finland) are all much less likely than average to say this. In contrast, Scandinavian employees (bar Sweden) are much more likely than the average European employee (63%) to say that their manager is ok with them doing personal tasks so long as it does not interfere with their workload.
- Q.18 On a scale of 0-10, where 0 means very unimportant and 10 means very important, please rate how important or unimportant the following aspects of your job are to you. Q18 – Similar proportions of European employees rate their work/life balance (73%), their job security (72%) and their salary (71%) to be important aspects of their job. Six in ten (60%) say the work culture is important while significantly fewer (37%) say promotion prospects are an important aspect of their job. Switzerland Q18. When asked to rate which aspects of their job are important to them (rating 8 to 10 on a 0-10 scale of importance), around seven in ten (69%) of the SMB employees surveyed would rate their job security as important. Elsewhere, a majority assign importance to their work/life balance (67%), salary (62%) and work culture (61%). Only three in ten (30%), however, would consider promotion prospects to be an important aspect of their job.
- A work/life balance is deemed to be an important aspect of the job notably more so for Polish (79%), Hungarian (82%), Greek (82%) and Romanian (87%) employees than for the average European employee (73%). Employees from Ukraine (66%), Denmark (65%), Sweden (66%), Norway (64%) and Switzerland (67%), however, are much less likely than average to say a work/life balance is important to them. Employees in all eastern European markets measured (bar Ukraine) are significantly more likely than average (72%) to rate job security as important. Danish (63%), Dutch (62%), Swedish (67%), British (64%) and Ukrainian (66%) employees attach to this aspect significantly lower importance than is average. A similar pattern is true of salaries; employees in all eastern European markets measured (and Italy) rate this as more important than the average European employee while those in all western European and Scandinavian markets measured (except Belgium and Spain) rate this as less important than average. Promotion prospects reveal a similar trend again; all western European and Scandinavian markets (except Belgium, Spain and Italy), as well as the Czech Republic, rate these as significantly less important than the average employee (37%). Eastern European and Italian employees, on the other hand, rate these as significantly more important than average. Work culture does not produce as many significant differences between markets as the other job aspects measured. Belgium (52%), Denmark (54%), Spain (50%) and Britain (44%) are the only countries which rate work culture as significantly less important to them as is average. Similarly, only Ukrainian (66%), Polish (77%), Hungarian (73%), Greek (76%) and Romanian (86%) employees rate this to be significantly more important than is average. All other employees are in line with the average (60%). Rated 8, 9 or 10 on a 0-10 scale of importance
- Q.17 If you imagine that you had another hour in your day, what would you use it for? Q17 – When imagining they had an extra hour in their day, a very small (3%) proportion of European employees say they would spend it doing more work and there is too much to do in the time they have. The largest proportion of employees (37%) would spend the hour with the family, followed by using it for some personal downtime (35%). Just over a quarter (27%) would use it for health or sports activities. Around one in seven (16%) would spend the hour sleeping and/or partaking in social activities with friends (15%). Opinion on how they would spend an extra hour in the day is relatively consistent across each market. Czech employees are a slight exception to the rule, in that they are especially likely to choose to spend time with their families (49%) or get some downtime (43%) compared to the average. Switzerland Q17. If they had another hour in their day, two in five (40%) employees would use it to enjoy some ‘personal downtime’: ‘spending time with the family’ and ‘health or sports activities’ are the next most popular options (both 30%). Only a small proportion (5%) would use the extra time to do more work, as there is currently too much to do in the time they have.