Technology was supposed to set us free but it seems to be chaining us to desks in ways employers of less advanced eras could scarcely have imagined.

Twice a year, Eircom takes the digital pulse of the nation, and its most recent report, published yesterday, points to an increasingly tech-savvy population smitten by smartphones and tablets but incapable of drowning out the electronic chatter of the workplace even at weekends or on holidays.

More than 1.2 million adults in the State will have access to a tablet by the end of the year, while the number with smartphones has already surpassed 1.6 million, which means that for the first time a majority of adults now have a smartphone.

Switching off is harder
In an "always-on" world, switching off is becoming harder: an estimated quarter of a million people read work emails while on holidays.

The poll, carried out by Behaviour & Attitudes among a sample of 1,000 adults, found that half of those surveyed never switch their phones off, while those aged under 35 and men of all ages think nothing of sending work-related emails late at night and at weekends, with two-thirds of people aged between 25 and 34 suggesting it was acceptable to text a colleague at any time.

Irish bedroom habits also appear to be changing. Nearly 80 per cent of people routinely access their smart devices from under the duvet while the first thing a million otherwise sensible adults do every morning is check their phones.