Redefining Working Hours? Emails Sent While Commuting Should Be Counted As Work, Says Study

Emails while commuting to work should be counted as work, says a study conducted by the University of West of England, BBC has reported.

Giving credits to the free public WiFi, Dr Juliet Jain is of the opinion that this has resulted in the blurring of “boundaries between work environment and home life.”

Dr Jain currently is a part of the University’s Centre for Transport and Society, and they studied over five thousand samples collected from passengers across London. This study is to be presented at the Royal Geographical Society.

54 per cent of the WiFi users send work-related emails on a regular basis, and the other users use their own internet for multiple purposes. This has been seen as an impact of the free WiFi being provided in the London to Birmingham and London to Aylesbury lines.

The study says that the process is a “transition from family to working environment.”

On the other hand, researchers argue that this move may lead to the employers demanding for more surveillance rights and accountability over data usage.