英國研究員認爲通勤時收發工作郵件應算入工時

Commuters are so regularly using travel time for work emails that their journeys should be counted as part of the working day, researchers say.

研究人員表示，上班族經常利用通勤時間來收發電子郵件，這段路程也應該算作工作的一部分。

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.

英格蘭西部大學的一項研究表明，火車上Wi-Fi的覆蓋和移動電話的普及延長了工作時間。

The study examined 5,000 rail passengers on commuter routes into London as wi-fi became more available.

隨着Wi-Fi變得更加普及，該研究對5000名乘坐通勤路線進入倫敦的鐵路上班族進行了調查。

"I am a busy mum and I rely on that time," one commuter told researchers.

一位上班族告訴研究人員：“我是一個忙碌的母親，我要好好利用通勤時間。”

The study 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.

該研究發現54％的通勤者使用火車的Wi-Fi發送工作電子郵件。其他人則使用自己的手機信號來收發工作電子郵件。

Those on the way to work were catching up with emails sent ahead of the coming day -- while those on the return journey were finishing off work not completed during regular working hours.

那些正在上班的人正在趕着回覆頭一天收到的郵件，而那些回程的人正在完成在正常工作時間內未完成的工作。

"It's dead time in a way, so what it allows me to do is finish stuff and not work in the evenings," said a commuter on the London to Birmingham route.

倫敦到伯明翰路線上的一位通勤者稱：“在某種程度上這是一段停滯時間，所以我利用它來完成工作，而不用留到晚上。”

It showed that as internet access improved it had the effective consequence of extending working hours, using laptops and mobile phones.

該研究表明，隨着互聯網接入的改善，結果是人們使用筆記本電腦和手機來工作，工作時間延長。

But the findings raise questions about the work-life balance -- and whether it is healthy to stretch out the working day with people routinely answering emails beyond office hours.

但這些調查結果引發了工作與生活平衡的問題，以及延長工作時間，經常在辦公時間以外的時間回覆電子郵件是否健康。

If the journey has become part of work, should it also be recognised as part of working hours?

如果旅程已成爲工作的一部分，那麼它是否也應被視爲工作時間的一部分？

Researcher Dr Juliet Jain said smartphones and mobile internet access had caused a "blurring of boundaries" between work and home life -- and this now applied to the journey to work.

研究員朱麗葉·詹恩博士表示，智能手機和移動互聯網接入已經導致工作和家庭生活之間的“界限模糊”，現在這一點體現在去往工作的路上。

"How do we count that time? Do workplace cultures need to change?" she asked.

“我們如何計算那段時間？職場文化需要改變嗎？”她發問道。

Instead of technology giving people more flexibility over working, the study showed that people were working extra hours on top of their time in the office.

該研究表明，技術並沒有讓人們更靈活地工作，相反，人們的工作時間超出了辦公室工作時間。

Counting the journey as work could "ease commuter pressure on peak hours" travel, Dr Jain said, allowing more staggered travel times.

詹恩博士稱，如果把通勤時間列入工作時間，“可以緩解高峯時段的通勤壓力”，允許更多交錯的通勤時間。

But she said it would also mean that employers would want "more surveillance and accountability" for how commuters were spending that time before arriving at their desks.

但她表示，這也意味着僱主希望能“有更多掌控與責任分配”，以確定通勤者在來到辦公桌前是怎麼利用那段時間的。