Smartphones making 7 in 10 people work outside office hours

A new study suggests that Kiwis really can't get enough of their smartphones, connecting them to work 24 hours a day.

They use their phones in the car, in bed, on the bus, at work, at the pub and on holiday, and they don't mind the intrusion, Stuff.co.nz reported.

The Great New Zealand Employment Survey 2013 conducted by Clarian HR in association with Massey University showed that 73 percent of people now work outside of office hours and much of that can be attributed to technology such as smartphones.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said the technology had meant they were doing more work than they used to.

Respondents said they were able to better utilise down time and had become more efficient, but conversely felt they always had to reply to emails promptly regardless of whether they had been sent after-hours in case their managers questioned their work ethic.

But only one in four people thought smartphones had made their lives worse - the majority saying the phones had either had no impact or had a positive effect.

Respondents loved that they never got lost any more - thanks to smartphone maps, could deal with minor issues quickly, deal with issues after-hours to stay on top of high workloads, and have a calendar at their fingertips to schedule time effectively.

But others felt they had less time for family and could not fully unwind from work, especially on Friday nights and weekends.