{"dataset":{"name":"Time spent writing, typing and on email","title":"How Much Time People Spend Writing and Typing at Work","question":"How many hours a week do people spend writing, typing and reading or answering email and messages?","url":"https://yapapp.cc/data/time-spent-writing","measure":{"label":"Time","unit":"hours per week","short":"h/wk","decimals":1},"dimensions":[{"key":"activity","label":"Activity","values":["Email","Messaging and chat","Writing documents","All writing and typing","Computer use at work","Other"]},{"key":"population","label":"Who"},{"key":"basis","label":"How measured","values":["Self-reported survey","Time diary","Logged by software","Estimate from other data"]},{"key":"country","label":"Country"},{"key":"n","label":"People"},{"key":"year","label":"Year"}],"include":"A time per week (or per day, or a share of the workweek, converted with the conversion stated in note) that a stated group spends writing, typing, on email or on messaging, from a survey, time-use study or software-logging study that states who was measured.","exclude":"Figures without a population, marketing claims without a survey, and the number of messages (only time).","method":"Found by scholarly search (keystroke logging, time-use and email studies) and web search for workplace surveys. A share of the workweek is converted at the hours per week the source states, or 40 hours when it states none (said in note). A per-day figure is multiplied by 5 workdays (said in note).","limitations":"Self-reported time is often overestimated, and workplace surveys sample office workers. Logged time is precise but covers only the software that was logged.","sources":9,"updated":"2026-10-19","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","credit":"Yap (2026). Time spent writing, typing and on email [Data set]. https://yapapp.cc/data/time-spent-writing"},"rows":[{"row":"Adobe 2019, work email","value":15,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"15","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Email","population":"U.S. adults surveyed by Adobe (consumers)","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":"United States","n":1002,"year":2019,"conversion":"Three-plus hours a day times 5 workdays is at least 15 hours a week. The source gives no hours per week and no workday count, so 5 days is assumed; 15 is a lower bound.","claim":"In Adobe's 2019 Email Usage Study of 1,002 U.S. adults, consumers said they spend three-plus hours a day checking work email, which is at least 15 hours a week at five days a week.","quote":"consumers said they spend approximately five hours a day checking work email (three-plus hours a day) and personal email (two-plus hours a day)","where_in_source":"Body text, second paragraph","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/adobe-2019-work-email-three-plus-hours-day","source_title":"If You Think Email Is Dead, Think Again","source_publisher":"Adobe Blog (Adobe Experience Cloud)","source_year":"2019","source_url":"https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2019/09/08/if-you-think-email-is-dead-think-again","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Adobe 2019, personal email","value":10,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"10","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Email","population":"U.S. adults surveyed by Adobe (consumers)","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":"United States","n":1002,"year":2019,"conversion":"Two-plus hours a day times 5 workdays is at least 10 hours a week. The source gives no hours per week and no workday count, so 5 days is assumed; 10 is a lower bound.","claim":"In Adobe's 2019 Email Usage Study of 1,002 U.S. adults, consumers said they spend two-plus hours a day checking personal email, which is at least 10 hours a week at five days a week.","quote":"consumers said they spend approximately five hours a day checking work email (three-plus hours a day) and personal email (two-plus hours a day)","where_in_source":"Body text, second paragraph","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/adobe-2019-personal-email-two-plus-hours-day","source_title":"If You Think Email Is Dead, Think Again","source_publisher":"Adobe Blog (Adobe Experience Cloud)","source_year":"2019","source_url":"https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2019/09/08/if-you-think-email-is-dead-think-again","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Microsoft 2023, heaviest email users","value":8.8,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"8.8","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Email","population":"Heaviest 25% of commercial Microsoft 365 email users","basis":"Logged by software","country":null,"n":null,"year":2023,"conversion":"The page gives 8.8 hours a week directly, so no conversion is needed. Basis is logged software use: the page's footnote describes intentional email activity counted in Microsoft 365. No head count is stated, so n is left out.","claim":"Microsoft's 2023 Work Trend Index found that the heaviest email users, the top 25 percent of its commercial Microsoft 365 users, spend 8.8 hours a week on email.","quote":"The heaviest email users (top 25%) spend 8.8 hours a week on email","where_in_source":"Introduction, paragraph on time spent (before 'Three findings')","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/microsoft-2023-heaviest-email-users-8-8-hours-a-week","source_title":"Work Trend Index 2023: Will AI Fix Work?","source_publisher":"Microsoft Work Lab","source_year":"2023","source_url":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/will-ai-fix-work","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Microsoft 2023, top 25% email users","value":8.8,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"8.8","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Email","population":"Heaviest email users, top 25% of Microsoft 365 users","basis":"Logged by software","country":null,"n":null,"year":2023,"conversion":"Basis taken from the report's statement that the figure is based on Microsoft 365 usage data. The news report does not say how hours were derived from that data, and the top quarter is not the average worker.","claim":"Microsoft's 2023 Work Trend Index found that the heaviest email users, the top 25 percent of its Microsoft 365 users, spend 8.8 hours a week on email.","quote":"the heaviest email users (top 25 percent) spend 8.8 hours a week on email","where_in_source":"Article body","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/register-2023-top-quarter-8-8-hours-email","source_title":"Microsoft Work Trend Index 2023, as reported by The Register","source_publisher":"The Register","source_year":"2023","source_url":"https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/10/microsoft_work_trend_index/","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"RescueTime 2024, email","value":6.8,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"6.8","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Email","population":"RescueTime users","basis":"Logged by software","country":null,"n":null,"year":2024,"conversion":"17 percent of an average workday is 1.36 hours per 8-hour day, and 1.36 times 5 workdays is 6.8 hours per week. The source states no hours per day, so 8 hours and 5 workdays are assumed.","claim":"In 2024, email took just over 17 percent of an average workday for RescueTime users, which is about 6.8 hours a week at an assumed 8-hour day and 5-day week.","quote":"Despite the rise of messaging apps, email remains a formidable communication tool, consuming just over 17% of an average workday.","where_in_source":"Email Overload section","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/rescuetime-2024-email-17-percent-workday","source_title":"Always online, always behind: the true cost of constant communication","source_publisher":"RescueTime blog","source_year":"2024","source_url":"https://blog.rescuetime.com/constant-communication-and-productivity/","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Whittaker et al. 2007, workers","value":4.08,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"4.1","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Email","population":"Workers who use email multiple times a week","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":null,"year":2001,"conversion":"49 minutes a day at five workdays is 245 minutes, which is 4.08 hours a week (4.083 exactly). The five-day week is the conversion's assumption.","claim":"A 2007 book chapter reports that 97 percent of workers use email multiple times a week, for a daily average of 49 minutes, citing a 2001 Gartner survey and two other sources.","quote":"97% of workers report using email multiple times per week for a daily average of 49 minutes","where_in_source":"Section 10.1, Introduction and Description of Topic","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/whittaker-2007-workers-email-49-minutes-a-day","source_title":"Everything through Email","source_publisher":"University of Washington Press, in Personal Information Management (eds. William Jones and Jaime Teevan)","source_year":"2007","source_url":"http://eprints.rclis.org/13707/1/2007_Email_PIM_WBG_PIM_book_Chapter_authors_final.pdf","source_doi":"10.1515/9780295800684-010","checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Gottschalk et al. 2005, email","value":0.2,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"0.2","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Email","population":"Primary care physicians, observed at work","basis":"Time diary","country":null,"n":11,"year":null,"conversion":"The source gives 0.04 hours a day. 0.04 times 5 workdays is 0.2 hours a week; the source states no weekly figure.","claim":"In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reading mail or e-mail took an average of 0.04 hours a day, which is 0.2 hours a week at five workdays.","quote":"Table 1. Continued Time Use Categories and Activities Hours Mean (SD) Percent of Total Workday ... Reading mail or e-mail 0.04 (0.05) 0.5","where_in_source":"Table 1, continued: Other work outside the examination room","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/gottschalk-2005-physicians-reading-email","source_title":"Time Spent in Face-to-Face Patient Care and Work Outside the Examination Room","source_publisher":"The Annals of Family Medicine","source_year":"2005","source_url":"https://www.annfammed.org/content/annalsfm/3/6/488.full.pdf","source_doi":"10.1370/afm.404","checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"WOBS 2016, business writers","value":20.4,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"20.4","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Writing documents","population":"Business people who write 2+ hours a week for work","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":547,"year":2016,"conversion":null,"claim":"In a 2016 survey of 547 business people who write at least two hours a week for work, excluding email, respondents averaged 20.4 hours of writing per week.","quote":"analyzing the experiences and attitudes of 547 business people who write at least two hours per week for work, excluding email. ... They average 25.5 hours reading and 20.4 hours writing per week.","where_in_source":"Introduction and Summary","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/bernoff-2016-writers-20-4-hours-writing","source_title":"The State of Business Writing: The challenge of writing for a read-on-screen world","source_publisher":"WOBS LLC","source_year":"2016","source_url":"https://bernoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/State-of-Business-Writing-2016-final-2.pdf","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"von Hippel 2015, private universities","value":14.5,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"14.5","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Writing documents","population":"Full-time faculty, private universities","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":23824,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In the national faculty survey that von Hippel and von Hippel (2015) quote, private universities spend an average of 14.5 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during teaching semesters.","quote":"a survey [12] of 23,824 ... faculty at public universities, private universities, public ... spend an average of 10.7, 14.5, 5.6, and 5.7 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during the teaching semesters, respectively","where_in_source":"Results, paragraph comparing grant-writing hours with the national faculty survey","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/von-hippel-2015-faculty-research-writing-private-universities-14-5","source_title":"To Apply or Not to Apply: A Survey Analysis of Grant Writing Costs and Benefits","source_publisher":"PLOS ONE","source_year":"2015","source_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/1503.04201","source_doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0118494","checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"von Hippel 2015, public universities","value":10.7,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"10.7","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Writing documents","population":"Full-time faculty, public universities","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":23824,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In the national faculty survey that von Hippel and von Hippel (2015) quote, public universities spend an average of 10.7 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during teaching semesters.","quote":"a survey [12] of 23,824 ... faculty at public universities, private universities, public ... spend an average of 10.7, 14.5, 5.6, and 5.7 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during the teaching semesters, respectively","where_in_source":"Results, paragraph comparing grant-writing hours with the national faculty survey","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/von-hippel-2015-faculty-research-writing-public-universities-10-7","source_title":"To Apply or Not to Apply: A Survey Analysis of Grant Writing Costs and Benefits","source_publisher":"PLOS ONE","source_year":"2015","source_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/1503.04201","source_doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0118494","checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"von Hippel 2015, private 4-yr colleges","value":5.7,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"5.7","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Writing documents","population":"Full-time faculty, private four-year colleges","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":23824,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In the national faculty survey that von Hippel and von Hippel (2015) quote, private four-year colleges spend an average of 5.7 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during teaching semesters.","quote":"a survey [12] of 23,824 ... faculty at public universities, private universities, public ... spend an average of 10.7, 14.5, 5.6, and 5.7 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during the teaching semesters, respectively","where_in_source":"Results, paragraph comparing grant-writing hours with the national faculty survey","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/von-hippel-2015-faculty-research-writing-private-four-year-colleges-5-7","source_title":"To Apply or Not to Apply: A Survey Analysis of Grant Writing Costs and Benefits","source_publisher":"PLOS ONE","source_year":"2015","source_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/1503.04201","source_doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0118494","checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"von Hippel 2015, public 4-yr colleges","value":5.6,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"5.6","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Writing documents","population":"Full-time faculty, public four-year colleges","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":23824,"year":null,"conversion":null,"claim":"In the national faculty survey that von Hippel and von Hippel (2015) quote, public four-year colleges spend an average of 5.6 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during teaching semesters.","quote":"a survey [12] of 23,824 ... faculty at public universities, private universities, public ... spend an average of 10.7, 14.5, 5.6, and 5.7 hours per week on research and scholarly writing during the teaching semesters, respectively","where_in_source":"Results, paragraph comparing grant-writing hours with the national faculty survey","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/von-hippel-2015-faculty-research-writing-public-four-year-colleges-5-6","source_title":"To Apply or Not to Apply: A Survey Analysis of Grant Writing Costs and Benefits","source_publisher":"PLOS ONE","source_year":"2015","source_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/1503.04201","source_doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0118494","checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"NC State 2018, marketing","value":16.8,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"16.8","unit":"hours per week","activity":"All writing and typing","population":"Marketing professionals","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":null,"year":2018,"conversion":"42 percent of a 40-hour work week is 16.8 hours. The source states no hours per week, so 40 hours is assumed.","claim":"In the NC State 2018 survey, marketing professionals reported spending an average of 42 percent of the total work week writing, the highest share of any field.","quote":"the average percentage reported across professions ranged from a high of 42 percent of time for marketing professionals to 26 percent of time for programmers","where_in_source":"Section 1, Figure 1.5","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/ciw-2018-writing-share-marketing-42","source_title":"Communication in the Workplace: What Can NC State Students Expect?","source_publisher":"Professional Writing Program, Department of English, North Carolina State University","source_year":"2018","source_url":"https://english.chass.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/08/CIW-2018-Report.pdf","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"NC State 2018, programmers","value":10.4,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"10.4","unit":"hours per week","activity":"All writing and typing","population":"Programmers","basis":"Self-reported survey","country":null,"n":60,"year":2018,"conversion":"26 percent of a 40-hour work week is 10.4 hours. The source states no hours per week, so 40 hours is assumed.","claim":"In the NC State 2018 survey, programmers reported spending an average of 26 percent of the total work week writing, the lowest share of any field.","quote":"the average percentage reported across professions ranged from a high of 42 percent of time for marketing professionals to 26 percent of time for programmers","where_in_source":"Section 1, Figure 1.5","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/ciw-2018-writing-share-programmers-26","source_title":"Communication in the Workplace: What Can NC State Students Expect?","source_publisher":"Professional Writing Program, Department of English, North Carolina State University","source_year":"2018","source_url":"https://english.chass.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/08/CIW-2018-Report.pdf","source_doi":null,"checked":"2026-10-16"},{"row":"Gottschalk et al. 2005, off-visit chart","value":3.45,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"3.5","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Other","population":"Primary care physicians, observed at work","basis":"Time diary","country":null,"n":11,"year":null,"conversion":"The source gives 0.69 hours a day. 0.69 times 5 workdays is 3.45 hours a week; the source states no weekly figure. The activity mixes reviewing with writing and dictating, so it is filed under Other.","claim":"In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reviewing, writing or dictating chart notes for patients not currently being seen took an average of 0.69 hours a day, which is 3.45 hours a week at five workdays.","quote":"Work outside the examination room related to care of patients not currently being seen ... Chart (reviewing, writing, or dictating notes) 0.69 (0.64) 8.0","where_in_source":"Table 1: Work outside the examination room related to care of patients not currently being seen","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/gottschalk-2005-physicians-off-visit-chart-notes","source_title":"Time Spent in Face-to-Face Patient Care and Work Outside the Examination Room","source_publisher":"The Annals of Family Medicine","source_year":"2005","source_url":"https://www.annfammed.org/content/annalsfm/3/6/488.full.pdf","source_doi":"10.1370/afm.404","checked":"2026-10-19"},{"row":"Gottschalk et al. 2005, chart","value":2.6,"low":null,"high":null,"as_written":"2.6","unit":"hours per week","activity":"Other","population":"Primary care physicians, observed at work","basis":"Time diary","country":null,"n":11,"year":null,"conversion":"The source gives 0.52 hours a day. 0.52 times 5 workdays is 2.6 hours a week; the source states no weekly figure. The activity mixes reviewing with writing and dictating, so it is filed under Other.","claim":"In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reviewing, writing or dictating chart notes during visit-specific work outside the examination room took an average of 0.52 hours a day, which is 2.6 hours a week at five workdays.","quote":"Time Use Categories and Activities Hours Mean (SD) Percent of Total Workday ... Chart (reviewing, writing, or dictating notes) 0.52 (0.62) 6.0","where_in_source":"Table 1: Visit-specific work outside the examination room","fact_url":"https://yapapp.cc/facts/gottschalk-2005-physicians-visit-chart-notes","source_title":"Time Spent in Face-to-Face Patient Care and Work Outside the Examination Room","source_publisher":"The Annals of Family Medicine","source_year":"2005","source_url":"https://www.annfammed.org/content/annalsfm/3/6/488.full.pdf","source_doi":"10.1370/afm.404","checked":"2026-10-19"}]}