Fact · Dictation for work and study
8.8hours per week
In the time spent writing, typing and on email dataset, the 7 published figures for “Email” have a median of 8.8 hours per week, ranging from 0.2 to 15.
Calculated from 7 data points on October 19, 2026
- What it measures
- Each figure is one row of the dataset: a published measurement for a stated group, traced to its source. The median is the middle value of the 7 figures for this group.
- How it is calculated
- Median of 7 values (0.2, 4.1, 6.8, 8.8, 8.8, 10, 15) = 8.8.
- What it does not show
- Self-reported time is often overestimated, and workplace surveys sample office workers. Logged time is precise but covers only the software that was logged.
A statistic of the dataset How Much Time People Spend Writing and Typing at Work, calculated by code from its published rows.
Calculated from
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.