A YouGov survey conducted on behalf of RingCentral,
Inc. (NYSE: RNG), a leading provider of cloud business
communications solutions, has found that Britons are working
increasingly longer hours as increased customer expectations and
flexible working patterns consign the traditional 9-5 to history.
According to new research by YouGov, a third of Britons are now working
more than 10 hours a day, with a short or no break and are bringing our
work life into the home by responding to work emails, texts and calls at
10pm in the evening. More than half (55%) of those surveyed now work
more than 40 hours a week.
While the European working time directive states that the maximum
working week should be 48 hours long, the competitiveness of today’s
business world and rising client expectations are causing our work
patterns to extend longer. In fact, over half of businesses (51%)
believe that customers are becoming more demanding when it comes to
getting hold of the right person the first time and getting an urgent
response to queries (55%).
Research conducted by YouGov and commissioned by cloud-based business
communications systems firm, RingCentral,
found that as working patterns change, more and more companies are
seeing the importance of managing a geographically dispersed workforce
(68%), and also believe that providing employees with the ability to
work flexibly (78%) or from home (60%) are important for employee
productivity levels.
The days of fixed office working hours are history. The research reveals
that we are now much more open to working in locations other than the
office, with 93% working from home for part of the week and 76% working
while travelling. At the same time, with customers now expecting
responses within just three hours, over three-quarters (77%) of us
respond to work emails after 6pm while two-thirds (67%) of us answer
work calls in the evening.
The way we work also affects productivity levels, with 93% of employees
stating that working from home is productive compared to 86% who
consider working in an open-plan office productive. Overall, employees
are most productive when working from clients’ offices (95%).
Lars Nordhild Rønning, General Manager, EMEA at RingCentral UK, said,
“Business life has changed dramatically, and companies need to embrace
technology that can accommodate these changing work patterns, driven by
mobility, agility and client responsiveness. Working life no longer
relies on location and traditional office hours, but much more on the
customer service you can provide clients, irrespective of where you are.”
Higher than ever client expectations and competing on customer service
are two key drivers that have fuelled the evolution of working life. The
key factors required most by customers are:
Good value and reliable service (60%)
Getting an urgent response to
queries (55%)
Consistency (52%)
Getting hold of the
appropriate person the first time (51%)
Companies are recognizing this trend, and are now adopting more
customer-centric working practices. Over a third (37%) of businesses
spend up to five hours a week at client offices, while 83% frequently
spend their time visiting customers or communicating with them via phone
and email when out of the office.
This online study questioned 550 senior decision makers at B2B
companies, and was carried out in September 2013 by YouGov on behalf of
RingCentral.
RingCentral provides innovative cloud business communications that free
people to work the way they want and stay ahead of the evolving needs of
the business. The company’s cloud-based phone system is easy to buy,
manage and use, and enables businesses to optimise calls, fax, and
conferencing while seamlessly integrating with other cloud solutions
like salesforce.com, Box, Dropbox and Google. The system also supports
remote working by enabling users to change their own preferences easily,
on the fly, from their mobile device.
RingCentral is a pioneer and leader in cloud business communications,
serving over 300,000 businesses worldwide.
About YouGov
YouGov is the authoritative measure of public opinion and consumer
behaviour and is the most quoted research company in the UK. www.yougov.co.uk
About RingCentral
RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG) is a leading provider of cloud business
communications solutions. Easier to manage and more flexible than
on-premise communications systems, RingCentral’s cloud solution meets
the needs of modern distributed and mobile workforces, while eliminating
the expense of on-premise hardware and software. RingCentral is
headquartered in San Mateo, California.
Copyright Business Wire 2013