Engineers Are Ditching Social To Restore Work-life Balance

…As the majority reveal that they rarely use technology for personal matters during work hours

Technology in the workplace continues to be a hot topic, but according to a recent survey by CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, over two thirds of workers in the engineering sector (68.9%) don’t use social media whilst at work, and of those that do, the majority (47.8%) will only do so for up to 15 minutes.

The study surveyed 1,200 workers on their opinions around technology in the workplace, and whether it is a distraction or an enabler to professionals. Interestingly, the survey found that despite 61.7% of engineering professionals admitting that they use smart phones while they’re at work, the majority (80.6%) do not use technology to do personal tasks during work hours. Other key findings revealed:

• Over a third (35.1%) of workers in the sector admitted to taking time out of their working day to contact friends or family on the phone
• However, of those, the majority (73.1%) would only do so for a maximum of 15 minutes
• A further 35.1% said they would not check personal emails whilst at work
• And the majority (81.9%) would not waste time browsing the internet and looking at irrelevant sites during work hours
• Furthermore, the study found that 51.4 % of employers in the engineering industry have rules in place regarding the use of technology for personal use, and for the majority (54.1%) this means that they are not allowed to use their phone. A further 21.6% are not allowed to surf the internet during work hours and 18.9% said they are not allowed to use social media.

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library comments:

“With new technologies always emerging and access to emails and shared working spaces from almost anywhere, the lines between our work and our private lives are becoming increasingly blurred.

It is therefore very positive to see that professionals in the engineering sector are being careful not to spend their working hours doing personal errands or making calls; drawing a more definitive line between their work and home life.

By ensuring your work hours are spent dedicated to staying on top of your workload, you can leave work behind at the end of the day and enjoy your free time as you please.”

The survey also found that the majority (94.5%) of professionals in the industry think that using technology at work is beneficial, higher than any other UK industry. When asked why they felt is it useful to them, respondents said that it enables them to connect with customers and clients from all over the world (29.2%), it saves time (21.5%), it helps them to work from different locations (16.9%) and it allows them to communicate with people in real time (15.4%).

Biggins concludes: “It’s clear that technology is both important and useful to engineers, enabling them to work remotely and connect with people all over the world. That said, it’s important that workers stay focused when using these technologies. The odd 15 minutes here and there may be passable, but if you find yourself falling behind as a result, or having to put in overtime, it could be time to ditch the tech and focus on a healthier work-life balance!”