Do you consider answering emails "working"?

mae0111 · August 2013

If you're working from home, do you consider just answering emails "working"? What about if you're on vacation?

I'm salaried, and like many other folks (salaried or not), I work more than the required 40 hours. I'm constantly checking email at night, on weekends, and on vacations, because it really only takes a few minutes to stay plugged in. I don't really consider that "working", I guess. I know other colleagues that will not put in for a vacation day if they have to spend more than an hour or 2 (combined) reading and answering emails.

I WFH 2 days a week, and I am in my office working. Other folks with the same arrangement are always available over email, but I can tell that their email responses are coming through from their blackberries, which makes me think they're doing other things besides working.

Just curious...

SunAndRain · August 2013

Yes, if I'm answering work related emails then I working. That said if I were out shopping and periodically checking emails to make sure I wasn't missing anything urgent then I would not consider that working. Bottom line is that bein salaried means I don't have to split hairs so long as I am meeting my deliverables.

Karla CS · August 2013

Depends on your office. Personally, if I'm on vacation and I answer a couple emails here or there and it takes up a few minutes, I don't consider that working. If I'm checking emails specifically for something, have to jump on a conference call, etc., I may consider that as at least a partial work day, especially if it's interrupting my planned vacation day. (During our Christmas vacation, I spent at least 2 hours answering emails on my iphone and jumping on calls because one of my clients decided that 12/22 was the PERFECT time to discuss an acquisition. I missed out on time with my family - so yes, I expect to be paid for it - or at least not have to use my vacation hours for it)

daisy662 · August 2013

As a salaried professional with a company issued blackberry, i understand that i am expected to be available and am ok with that. I am not sure if I consider it working or not, I just consider it being accessible and doing my job. I personally don't think it's a big deal to answer emails or take calls outside of the 9 to 5.

DiveFrog · August 2013

SunAndRain said:

Yes, if I'm answering work related emails then I working. That said if I were out shopping and periodically checking emails to make sure I wasn't missing anything urgent then I would not consider that working. Bottom line is that bein salaried means I don't have to split hairs so long as I am meeting my deliverables.

I agree with this. Answering emails with something other than..."I will check into that", or I will get you an answer by x date, or something similar is working to me. However, due to being salaried I really do not worry about the number of hours I actually work. My responsibility is to do my job, produce results, and provide my deliverables on time.

I have run a quick errand during the middle of the day, or worked from the hospital while my husband had surgery, or while I was nursing my DD on my WFH days. A lot of those emails were sent from phone and not my laptop.

I also left the house yesterday at 7:00am, got back from a day work trip at 9:15pm, put my DD to bed, then left to return my work pool car, and got home at 11:00pm.

The flexibility of when and how I get my work done is what makes not getting overtime pay acceptable to me, and days like yesterday make it reasonable for me to take an hour and run a personal errand in the middle of the day when I WFH.

NicoleWI · August 2013

I absolutely consider that working. I mean, clearly, it IS work--you are connected to work, thinking about work issues; it's not a hobby and it's not family time. But, I wouldn't count up the minutes and ask for compensatory time off. I'm salaried so I don't mind doing a few e-mail checks from home.

traveltheworld · August 2013

I consider it working. I never did until I had DS, now I tell people that I don't work between 6 - 8 pm, that means I do not answer emails, take phone calls, etc. unless it's an absolute emergency.

jd614 · August 2013

if i am connected to work, i consider it working. i only check in a few times while im on vacation (lets say if im off for a week, ill check email like twice) so then i dont consider it working. But if i come home from work at 6 and im on email again from 8-830/9, then yes thats working to me.

aglenn · August 2013

I'm a consultant and we bill our time to our clients by the hour. Our guidelines are that any time you are attending to a client issue, that is billable time. So, if I am sending an email from my Blackberry when I'm out at the mall, the time that I spend reading the email, thinking about a response, and responding is billable. Time I spend carrying my Blackberry around the mall and thinking about jean shopping is not. As far as taking PTO time, I think it depends on the amount of time and energy. More than a few hours of email would cause me to not take a PTO day, but your answer may differ depending on your company culture and your own comfort level.

*sparky* · August 2013

If I have taken a vacation day and spend a few minutes here and there on email that is no big deal to me. However, in your example, if this ended up being two hours of my day, I would not want to use PTO for that time. Because it is work that is preventing me from enjoying whatever I had taken the day off for.

If someone is supposed to be WAH but is always answering emails on a smartphone/BB, then I could see how that would lead to the assumption that they are possibly out running errands/at the gym/at lunch with friends and answering emails to give the impression that they are working.

LoCarb · August 2013

Team 'it considered work'

mae0111 · August 2013

Thanks for the perspective.

It's great to have flexibility to work elsewhere, but I think if you're scheduled to WFH, and all you're doing is responding to emails (however diligently), then you're not truly working. You should be able to make a dent on deliverables, perhaps produce something while you're working. That's more like taking a 1/2 day.

Vacation is separate. If I'm working solidly for a few hours a day, I'm reducing the number of days I submit as PTO. If I'm just scrolling through emails, even daily or a few times a day, I won't really count that as full on "working".

I have a colleague who has told me multiple times that she spent her entire vacation "working" - every day, all day. Then she will tell me that she didn't take her laptop with her, and didn't actually log in at all.

TheBorg7of9 · August 2013

I'm an attorney and I bill for my time. Any time spent on work is working. Yes.

DiveFrog · August 2013

mae0111 said:

Thanks for the perspective.

It's great to have flexibility to work elsewhere, but I think if you're scheduled to WFH, and all you're doing is responding to emails (however diligently), then you're not truly working. You should be able to make a dent on deliverables, perhaps produce something while you're working. That's more like taking a 1/2 day.

Vacation is separate. If I'm working solidly for a few hours a day, I'm reducing the number of days I submit as PTO. If I'm just scrolling through emails, even daily or a few times a day, I won't really count that as full on "working".

I have a colleague who has told me multiple times that she spent her entire vacation "working" - every day, all day. Then she will tell me that she didn't take her laptop with her, and didn't actually log in at all.

I think whether responding to emails is truly "working" is completely job dependent. I have actually WFH today. I have spent the entire day reading, answering and sending email, IM, making phone calls and on a 2hr conference call. So, essentially my entire 8 hrs. today will be spent on communication versus deliverables. It just works that way sometimes.

I agree if you are just sitting around doing personal things and ONLY monitoring your email for new activity and then responding I would not consider that working.

mae0111 · August 2013

DiveFrog said:

mae0111 said:

Thanks for the perspective.

It's great to have flexibility to work elsewhere, but I think if you're scheduled to WFH, and all you're doing is responding to emails (however diligently), then you're not truly working. You should be able to make a dent on deliverables, perhaps produce something while you're working. That's more like taking a 1/2 day.

Vacation is separate. If I'm working solidly for a few hours a day, I'm reducing the number of days I submit as PTO. If I'm just scrolling through emails, even daily or a few times a day, I won't really count that as full on "working".

I have a colleague who has told me multiple times that she spent her entire vacation "working" - every day, all day. Then she will tell me that she didn't take her laptop with her, and didn't actually log in at all.

I think whether responding to emails is truly "working" is completely job dependent. I have actually WFH today. I have spent the entire day reading, answering and sending email, IM, making phone calls and on a 2hr conference call. So, essentially my entire 8 hrs. today will be spent on communication versus deliverables. It just works that way sometimes.
I agree if you are just sitting around doing personal things and ONLY monitoring your email for new activity and then responding I would not consider that working.

Good point. I've had many days like yours today. But I was thinking more along the lines of your second paragraph. I think that I have a lot of colleagues who claim they are WFH, but all they're really doing is monitoring emails.

blushingbride_08 · August 2013

I consider it working but I think you have to set an expectation of what you are always going to stick with. At my last company I would try very hard not to answer emails outside of normal business hours because then it becomes expected from other people including your manager. Sometimes I would just log in from home to check mail and someone would see me online and ask a question..annoying! I know some coworkers who would answer email purposely outside of normal business hours just to look like they were super star employees yet they were slacking off during the daytime. The bottom line is to get your work done and don't do anything that you don't want to be consistent with.

Netty_3 · August 2013

If they're work related.

rubber_chicken · August 2013

Yes, I consider it working.

This is why we now take our vacations to spots without internet and sometimes even cell reception. It's the only way to really get away.

BeachBum73 · August 2013

Yes, I definitely consider it working. I work for a large company (10K + people) and email is our # 1 way of communicating. Emails help move along and also lead to "productive" work.

ETA: I WFH full-time.

mexicolombiana · August 2013

I'm an attorney but I don't bill for my time (flat fee bankruptcy work) but I definitely consider checking email working. You guys should see some of the ridiculous emails I get. Some of them take 5 minutes to even read. 5 minutes of my life that I lost. Then another 5 minutes responding. Definitely working. Too bad I can't bill for my time. We do some non-bankruptcy work where we do bill but it's rare.

groovygrl · August 2013

I consider it working but do not keep track and add up my time outside normal work hours and then adjust my hours or anything...however, I do feel that since I check and respond to emails at night and on weekends and on vacation (and before work and at stop lights en route to work haha) I don't feel badly about flexing my time and whatnot as needed... Like the others, I am salaried and just do what I need to do to do my job well... I wouldn't say to my boss, I am taking Friday off without taking a vacation day because my out of office emails have added up to 8 hrs this month... But I could see some ppl trying that lol.

Ms.Jade · August 2013

Yes. If I have to use my brain to answer questions or solve problems regarding work, then I'm working and yes, I count it. Just because I can do it while pushing E in the swings doesn't mean I'm not working. I could be talking or singing with my kid or reading a novel. It's time away from my personal life so it's work.

kristennd · August 2013

Working and working hard are two different things. Even if you think she's exaggerating how much effort she's putting in, it's still a job-related task.

Pips09 · August 2013

It's definitely work. Time and energy/attention are being spent on job related tasks. Doesn't matter where it is being done from.

SoMoNY · August 2013

A. This is why I remove the sent from iPhone/iPad signature from my emails :-)

B. Yes I consider this work since my attention is on office needs and not my own.

Sometimes when I work from home I spend the day doing nothing but getting caught up on emails, that is just as important as writing reports in my book.

cecilyandgautam · August 2013

If it just takes a few minutes and I can answer off the top of my head, I don't treat that as working on my time sheet.

If I'm on vacation and see an urgent email that requires me to skip out on family activities while I write up a detailed response, draft a document, etc, and it takes more than an hour then I will treat those hours as work time and the rest of the as leave.

Nechie122 · August 2013

cecilyandgautam said:
If it just takes a few minutes and I can answer off the top of my head, I don't treat that as working on my time sheet.

If I'm on vacation and see an urgent email that requires me to skip out on family activities while I write up a detailed response, draft a document, etc, and it takes more than an hour then I will treat those hours as work time and the rest of the as leave.

I agree with this. It's not the act of "answering" e-mails that's the work part. It's following through on whatever is being requested.

If I can answer off the top of my head, not work. If the answer requires me to look things up, consult my notes, make a phone call or rewrite a document ... yes, that's work.

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