New survey confirms our preference for partners in email management

(EdBockStock)

We are more likely to respond quickly to our partner than to our boss, according to new research.

The study, which surveyed over 7000 people in seven countries, found that we prioritize our personal life within our inbox, even though 76% of people spend up to an hour of the working day responding to emails.

Almost half of respondents (49%) said that they would choose to respond fastest to their partner, followed by customers, the boss and our colleagues. Globally, we spend an average of one minute digesting each email received, with 46% of us opting to call the sender if the content is deemed important.

The survey, conducted by Nokia, also revealed some interesting national trends. Russia and the United Arab Emirates are the only countries where individuals were most likely to respond to their parents above their friends, whilst only 6% of Italians would prioritize an email from their father.

The survey provides an interesting insight into the importance of email in our personal life, spurred by the next generation of email equipped phones by manufacturers such as Blackberry, Apple, and Nokia.