News: Performance Management
'Employees use email and text to avoid workplace confrontations'
23 April 2008
UK employees are increasingly using email and text messages to avoid confrontations at work, a survey has found.
In a poll of more than 2,100 people, 73 per cent of people questioned said they use email and text messages to delegate tasks.
Commissioned by the Post Office, the survey also discovered that just over half of employees use the technology to apologise for mistakes.
In addition, 13 per cent admitted they used email or text messaging to resign from their jobs.
Stewart Fox-Mills, head of telephony at the Post Office, said: "Digital technology is constantly giving us new ways to communicate, which enriches our day-to-day lives. But we've found that many people are using modern technology to keep a 'digital distance' and avoid face-to-face or verbal confrontation."
The findings follow news that UK workers often find their managers uninspiring and inconsistent.
A survey of more than 2,300 employees across a variety of sectors by the Work Life Balance Centre and Coventry University revealed that just 4.1 per cent of people questioned find their managers inspirational, while 17.7 per cent said they find them demotivating.
