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Emails While Commuting 'Should Count as Work', Researchers Say (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the modern-world-work-life-tussle dept.

Commuters are so regularly using travel time for work emails that their journeys should be counted as part of the working day, researchers say. From a report: Wider access to wi-fi on trains and the spread of mobile phones has extended the working day, a study from the University of the West of England says. The study examined 5,000 rail passengers on commuter routes into London as wi-fi became more available. "I am a busy mum and I rely on that time," one commuter told researchers. The study, to be presented at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday, found that 54% of commuters using the train's wi-fi were sending work emails. Others were using their own mobile phone connections for work emails.

21 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Ok, emails on the train are work, now what? by JoeyRox · · Score: 2

    Since knowledge workers are generally exempt employees (outside of contractors) then they're not going to be paid overtime for their emails.

    1. Re:Ok, emails on the train are work, now what? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Yes, but emailing them does nothing or nearly so.

      I have not found that to be true at all. Not everyone who works for hourly wages is a moron. At my company, none of them are.

      At best, you get the same results as if there was a memo waiting for them

      So? Sending an email is far faster and easier than writing and distributing a paper memo. That is the whole point of email. Also, there is a date-stamped permanent record of who said what.

    2. Re:Ok, emails on the train are work, now what? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      What do you mean exempt employees??

      Exempt vs non-exempt

      It is an American term, defined in American law. If you are not an American, there is no need to understand the terms. If you are an American, you certainly should. It means a job is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Managerial jobs and most salaried jobs are exempt. Non-exempt workers are mostly those paid an hourly wage.

      There are some quirks. Agricultural workers are neither exempt nor non-exempt, nor do minimum wage laws apply to them. This was designed to exclude black and Hispanic farm workers so southern white Democratic congressmen would vote for the FLSA.

      For some weird reason, movie theater workers are also excluded from the FLSA.

  2. Why wouldn't it be counted as work? by dfn5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    But more importantly, what difference does it make? Who gets paid for every hour of work worked? So it means I work 70 hours in a week instead of 60. I'm still only getting paid for 40.

    --
    -- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
    1. Re:Why wouldn't it be counted as work? by Jzanu · · Score: 4, Interesting

      For some context, UK labor law limits weekly work to 48 hours total. If commuting while performing measurable and exclusively work focused activity is by policy made work hours due to employer pressures, then it reduces the legal amount remaining. Largely this is a youth protective measure, and you could opt out if an adult able to buy your own alcohol, etc. it must be entirely voluntary (not condition of being hired) and there are also occupational restrictions that enforce it as a rigid limit. Those jobs include "airline staff a worker on ships or boats a worker in the road transport industry, eg delivery drivers (except for drivers of vehicles under 3.5 tonnes using GB Domestic drivers’ hours rules) other staff who travel in and operate vehicles covered by EU rules on drivers’ hours, eg bus conductors a security guard on a vehicle carrying high-value goods"

    2. Re:Why wouldn't it be counted as work? by Computershack · · Score: 4, Informative

      But more importantly, what difference does it make? Who gets paid for every hour of work worked? So it means I work 70 hours in a week instead of 60. I'm still only getting paid for 40.

      Me. Not only do I get paid for every hour I work I also get paid for the mandatory 45 minute rest breaks I must take during my shift. I'm a truck driver in the UK. So currently I get paid 50hrs for doing 46.25hrs and I also get 28 days annual paid leave too. The joys of not living in a country which has shitty workers rights.

      --
      I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
    3. Re:Why wouldn't it be counted as work? by Muros · · Score: 2

      You know... While on their deathbad no one ever said 'I wish I spent more time at the office'.

      Maybe Aubrey de Grey will.

  3. Re:Researchers Say! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The research results boils down to establishing that "work" is work. Great conclusion indeed.

    Research time would be better spent trying to establish why employees would want to work while commuting knowing they won't be compensated for that.

  4. Re:Researchers Say! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Because if they don't, the person sitting next to them that is working will have their job.

  5. Likelihood of retention by tepples · · Score: 2

    Research time would be better spent trying to establish why employees would want to work while commuting knowing they won't be compensated for that.

    One hypothesis to check in this research is whether 1. unpaid work during the commute increases the likelihood of promotion or even retention, and 2. employees perceive their situation as such.

    1. Re:Likelihood of retention by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      This being Europe, if it was found that answering emails while unpaid was beneficial action would be taken to eliminate the benefit.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  6. Re:Texting while Driving in my State is Illegal by mysidia · · Score: 4, Informative

    So if I get a ticket for Texting while Driving do I submit the ticket to my employer

    Generally your employer is not responsible for covering your ticket fine: even if you are driving a company vehicle.
    That is... if the ticket is a moving violation, and not expired inspection sticker or invalid tags, since those fines ultimately
    go against the property owner, not the driver. Parking violations you cause in a company are also your responsibility, even though if you fail to pay -- it's the vehicle's owner they will go after.

  7. Re:Researchers Say! by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When I work, you pay me for it. When you consider it work that I read emails, you pay me for it. You don't pay me when I commute, I won't read emails when I commute.

    It is actually that simple.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. Cynical answer... by sjbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here's my hypothesis: Wage increases and job security.

    An old axiom about why buy the cow when you get the milf for free comes to mind...

    Guess which one gets the raise. Guess who gets laid off when business is slow.

    My guess would be neither and both respectively.

    1. Re: Cynical answer... by sjbe · · Score: 2

      I would imagine that you may have intended to write milk?

      Actually no. I thought it would be funnier as written and I don't have autocorrect. Good eye catching the joke though.

  9. Re:Researchers Say! by mark-t · · Score: 2

    How about the possibility of just wanting to put your best foot forward and not ignore the possibility that getting even that half hour jump start on the work day while you are waiting for your commute to be over, when you are otherwise entirely unproductive anyways, can help to make the rest of the day a little bit stressful?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  10. Re:Researchers Say! by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 2

    If I dream about a problem and awake with the solution (or even if I awake without one) then I was literally ... not figuratively ... working in my sleep.

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  11. Re:Researchers Say! by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When I work, you pay me for it. When you consider it work that I read emails, you pay me for it. You don't pay me when I commute, I won't read emails when I commute.

    It is actually that simple.

    My work and off work life are so mixed I don't even care. I'll gladly answer some emails off hours, I leave early if I need, work from home if I need, run errands during the workday, etc. It allows me to better manage all my time. I realize not everyone is in a similar situation.

  12. Re:Researchers Say! by AlanBDee · · Score: 2

    Research time would be better spent trying to establish why employees would want to work while commuting knowing they won't be compensated for that.

    The way I see it when I'm a salaried employee that means that I get paid to do a job regardless of when or how I accomplish that job. I am being compensated for that work, we just don't track the exact number of hours spent doing it. I am expected to be in the office for approximately 40 hours but nobody's counting.

    I know there are companies that will work people 70+ hours a week but that's as much on the employee as it is on the employer. I've made it clear that if they expect me to work outside normal office hours regularly then I'll find employment elsewhere; lucky for me good developers are in high demand and it's easy for me to find a job.

  13. MTA-STS by tepples · · Score: 2

    The filtering you mention conceptually resembles sslstrip, which prompted HSTS. A mail user agent (MUA) might implement an analogous countermeasure against STARTTLS stripping by warning the user if STARTTLS to a particular server stops working:

    MUA connects to mail server over one network.
    STARTTLS works.
    MUA records this fact.
    MUA connects to same mail server over a different network.
    STARTTLS fails.
    MUA warns user that a mail server that once supported STARTTLS no longer does and drops the connection until further notice.

    There's even a draft proposal called MTA-STS for a mail server to require STARTTLS for further connections.

    Or the user could configure the MUA to connect on the alternate port that uses TLS from byte one: 465 for SMTP, 993 for IMAP, or 563 for NNTP.

  14. Re: Researchers Say! by Evtim · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yep! Welcome to the race.. to the bottom.