Emails checked outside of working hours, overuse of Teams... How hyperconnectivity is undermining employees' daily lives

The right to disconnect is far from being respected around the world. This is, in any case, the conclusion drawn from a recent global report by Microsoft , published on June 17, 2025, in which the use of digital tools by 31,000 "knowledge workers" in 31 countries, including France, was studied. According to the data revealed, workdays are significantly extended due to the use of these technologies. The multinational – also accused of complicity in genocide for having provided advanced services used by the Israeli military – reveals that 40% of employees check their emails "before 6 a.m."

In addition to the usual peaks in activity in the morning and early afternoon, a third peak now appears in the evening: 29% of employees check their emails around 10 p.m., according to this study carried out on the basis of "aggregated and anonymized Microsoft 365 productivity signals" by the software giant.

But hyperconnectivity also manifests itself during the workday. On average, an employee receives 117 emails and 153 messages via Teams per day, according to Microsoft data. Interruptions to his work are therefore constant: every two minutes on average, or "275 times per day by meetings, emails or chat notifications," the study continues.

France is no exception to this trend. According to a study conducted by ViaVoice for the health prevention consultancy Verbateam, reported by Agence France-Presse on Friday, June 27, 65% of employees report being addicted to their screens , and their company is taking action to limit their connection for only 16% of them.

The effects of this hyperconnection are concrete: three-quarters of the 1,000 people questioned for this study say they have “already felt negative effects linked to their digital use” , including sleep disorders (76%), difficulty concentrating (77%), a feeling of constant pressure (78%) or “stress and anxiety in the face of digital demands” .

"We are not only seeing this phenomenon worsen, but there is also a rather surprising trend towards the trivialization, even the valorization of this hyperconnection in business," warns Flore Serré, general director of Verbateam. "There really is a practice that is becoming addictive," according to her, addiction being defined as "a compulsive need, chronic use and above all, a loss of control."

But unionists didn't wait for warnings from digital giants or firms to react. The CGT (General Confederation of Labour) was already denouncing the intrusion of work technologies into private life in 2020. According to its barometer published at the time , the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for professional reasons in private time is widespread and concerns both male executives (77%) and female executives (73%), the civil service (80%) as well as the private sector (73%).

Four years later, the problem is far from resolved. According to the latest survey, published Monday, June 23, by the Union of CGT Managers and Technicians (UGICT), 67% of managers want an effective right to disconnect. This proportion is up 11 points compared to 2016.