The  Pew Research Center issued an interesting report titled Networked Workers that proposes a analysis of the state of web workers in the US. By web workers we have to understand people who use internet in their day to day job, including email. qui dresse un état des lieux des travailleurs du web aux Etats-Unis. Par travailleurs du web entendons tous ceux qui utilisent internet dans leur travail quotidien (pour information cela comprend également l’email).

Here are some numbers

27% are always on internet at work (“always on”) andt 22% several times a day.

80% consider web technologies increase their ability for doing their work.

73% consider web technologies help them to share ideas with their colleagues

58% consider they offer them more flexibility in their day to day work

56% say they work at home on top of their work

50% read their business emails on week ends

49% say these technologies increased their level of stress

49% say they make it more difficult to switch off when at home or on vacation

conclusion  :

• we are more and more connected to the web and it’s an obvious help in our day to day work.
• the confusion bewteen private / business is more and more pronounced and may have negative consequences on people’s health and, more widely, on their family and on society.

In brief it can be summed up by : “it’s useful but it’s more and more intrusive”.

Are we reaching the limits of the web as a work platform or the limit of an unappriate use ? Assuming that, according to me, tools are either good or bad, efficient or not, depending on the way they’re used, I’d rather say the second propostion is true.

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