About a third of Danes check their work email during their free time at least once a day, according to a study carried out by Epinion for DR Nyheder.

Bo Netterstrøm, a stress consultant and senior researcher at the department of occupational and environmental medicine at Bispebjerg Hospital, was not surprised by the findings. “It’s an expression of what we call unbounded work,” he said.

“That you’re actually also at work in your free time – if nothing else, then in your thoughts and in your behaviour.”

According to Netterstrøm, the extent of the phenomenon varies significantly from one profession to the next. He told DR Nyheder that in some sectors checking email from home will be the norm.

“In the knowledge-intensive sectors, such as journalists, doctors or other professions where you are in contact with a lot of people in the course of a long working day, it will be the case for many people that they actually experience this constantly,” he said.

Price of flexibility?
Lars Qvistgaard, a senior consultant at the professional organisation DJØF, told DR the phenomenon was linked to the flexibility that many employees have in the workplace, but that it was not without dangers. “It’s a sign of flexibility, where you can try to get things to hang together,” he said.

“But on the other hand, it’s a problem because you risk working too long, not taking time off and having the necessary breaks that you also need in your professional life.”