Workers are spending less time checking business as well as personal email, though most still spend several hours each day sorting through their inboxes, according to recent research from CMO by Adobe.

The report was based on data from a survey conducted in July 2019 among 1,002 US adults, most of whom work in office/white collar jobs.

Respondents say they spend 209 minutes each day checking work email, on average, and 143 minutes checking personal email, on average. That is down from 256 minutes spent checking work email, and 209 minutes spent checking personal email, in 2016.

When Workers Check Email

Nearly half (48%) of respondents say they don’t check their work email until they start working; 13% check while still in bed, 15% while commuting, and 25% while eating breakfast.

Just over three quarters (76%) of respondents say they check work email outside of work hours, and 92% say they check personal email while at work.

Inbox Zero

Only 46% of respondents say they achieve inbox zero (acting on every email that comes in), down from 55% in 2018.

Email Usefulness 

Respondents open 80% of their work emails, on average, and find 59% to be useful; they open 57% of their personal emails, on average, and find 37% to be useful.

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey conducted in July 2019 among 1,002 US adults, most of whom work in office/white collar jobs.

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Work Email Behavior: Time, Inbox, and Usefulness Trends

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Ayaz Nanji

Ayaz Nanji is a writer, editor, and a content strategist. He is a co-founder of ICW Media and a research writer for MarketingProfs. He has worked for Google/YouTube, the Travel Channel, and the New York Times.

LinkedIn: Ayaz Nanji

Twitter: @ayaznanji