And finally…9 to 5 has officially become 8 to 8

The death of the ‘9-to-5’ was revealed by a recent study into incoming business call volumes by call answering service alldayPA, which tracked over a million calls from a two year period.

The research found legal and e-commerce businesses have seen the biggest rise in 8am to 8pm working – legal firms have seen an 80 per cent rise in calls outside 9 to 5, while for e-commerce it is 60 per cent.

Reuben Singh, chief executive officer at alldayPA, said: “Customer expectations are changing radically. 8-to-8 opening hours are seen as the norm rather than the exception.

“Businesses advertising telephone services should expect calls whenever customers see a listing or advert, whatever time of day, or night that is. Legal firms are experiencing the biggest growth due to greater emphasis on advertising personal injury claim lines and other helplines.

“For e-commerce and IT businesses, that operate round-the-clock, customers expect staff to be working as well, with calls outside 9 to 5 up 60% and 38% respectively.”

While larger businesses are adapting to these changing customer expectations using shift workers and international call centres, research suggests small and medium sized companies are simply lengthening their working day, putting greater pressure on staff.

The data shows 32 per cent of workers in such businesses say they regularly take calls outside of their contracted hours to help meet the demands of customers.

“For smaller, fast-growing businesses, the 8-to-8 customer culture presents a real risk, both in terms of the well-being of entrepreneurs and bosses, but also a risk to the quality of customer service that is offered,” Mr Singh said.

“Getting additional support from professional call answering services is a better solution for these businesses, easing the out-of-hours burden and ensuring a consistent, professional service for customers.”