Over a third of smartphone owners have been found to irritate their partners by checking their work emails outside of work hours.

A YouGov survey by Firstsource Solutions has found that 35% of the 2000 UK adults interviewed admitted to irritating their partners by checking emails from work outside of working hours, while 10% also admitted to checking their work emails on holiday.

The survey also discovered that one in six of smartphone owners check work emails on weekends and days off, while one in five check work emails after office hours on a work day.

Also discovered was that men are more likely to check their work emails using their smartphones out of hours than women, with 37% of men admitting that it irritates their partners when they do so. 28% admitted to doing the same.

95% of those surveyed owned a mobile phone, 38% of which owned a smartphone.

Santanu Nandi, executive vice president Firstsource Solutions Telecom and Media division, said: “This survey shows that smart phones have become an indispensable part of everyday life and people feel the need to check their work emails regularly, even when not at work. This information has an implication for mobile phone service providers who need to provide round the clock support for their ‘power users’. With half the people surveyed yet to switch over to a smart phone, their importance is only likely to increase in years to come.”