It might surprise you to learn that marketing is the UK’s hardest working industry, especially if you know anyone who does digital marketing for a living.
If you’re in marketing yourself, though, you’re more likely to spend more time checking and sending emails when than those in other industries. And being ‘always on’ isn’t good for you or your productivity.
So here’s why you need to take a break from your marketing job.
How marketers are working harder
A study by Workfront, a cloud-based work management solutions business, found almost half of marketers (48%) log into work emails before and after work every day, and the same number (48%) will even check their work emails at weekends. This compares to under a third (28%) of general office workers.
The findings of the study also revealed the reasons behind this ‘always on’ culture among marketers – a third (33%) said it was because they had too much work, just over a quarter (28%) said they wanted to be available to their clients any time of day or night – something that will be significantly worse for anyone with overseas clients – while almost half (44%) said they overwork to get ahead.
But working long hours often negates any gains in productivity, particularly over the long term. Although there will be short-term gains in working after hours and away from the office, if this ‘always on’ lifestyle becomes a long term arrangement, it can seriously damage your to your health, as we highlighted in How working from home could be killing you.
How to switch off
Technology helps us work from home more efficiently and more effectively, but it brings with it the temptation to never fully switch off – there’s always email to read and work to finish – so here are some top tips to help you switch off out of office hours…
- Never take work home with you – The little job that’ll take ten minutes at home can quickly get out of hand, so play it safe and leave your work in the office.
- Say no to after work activities – This can be anything from a quick drink once the day is done to unpaid (or paid) overtime, and being prepared to say no and go home is the only way to switch off from work completely. It can also help to pencil in activities, such as going to the gym, for clocking off time.
- Stay away from screens – If you work on a computer during the day, try to stay off it in the evening. Not only is all that screen time bad for your eyes and your brain, making it more difficult to switch off and go to sleep, it also makes it really easy to slip back into work mode and start checking those emails again. The same goes for your smartphone.
Use your free time for something leisurely and enjoyable, like it’s meant to be, or even catch up on the housework – don’t make a long day at the office even longer.
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