STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2000--

U.S. Worker Interruption Levels Drop 16% from 1998

Research released today from Pitney Bowes' latest workplace study on messaging tools and practices reveals that while U.S. workers are receiving more messages than in the past, their feelings of message overwhelm are decreasing. According to the study, U.S. workers send and receive an average of 204 messages per day via various text, voice and hardcopy tools. While the average respondent received more messages in 1999 than in 1998, only 23% of respondents reported feeling overwhelmed by their message volume, reflecting a 2% drop from 1999 and an 8% drop from 1998.

"The continued decline in workers' sense of being overwhelmed by messages is a sign that they are moving up the technology adoption curve and using good message management practices," said Meredith Fischer, co-author of the study and vice president, Pitney Bowes Inc. "Workers have learned that seamlessly integrating messaging tools into their work processes increases their productivity."

"Messaging for Innovation: Building the Innovation Infrastructure Through Messaging Practices" -- Pitney Bowes' fourth annual workplace study on messaging practices -- reveals a common communications "tool kit" from which workers employ an individualized mix of tools to help manage workflow and enhance thinking, with workers most heavily communicating via wired phone (wired and voicemail), e-mail and interoffice mail.

In 1999, the top ten communications tools used by U.S. workers were:

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*T

               Tool                        # of Messages
                                        Sent/Received Daily
Voice Tools                                  Total: 75
    Telephone                                   48
    Voice Mail                                  21
    Cellular Phones                              6
Text Tools                                   Total: 68
    E-mail                                      50
    Fax                                         10
    Pager                                        8
Hard Copy Tools                              Total: 33
    Interoffice Mail                            18
    Postal Mail(a)                              15
Other Tools                                  Total: 30
    Sticky Notes                                12
    Telephone Message Slips                      8

*T

(a) USPS Express Mail and overnight couriers round out the communications tools used to send and receive the reported 204 messages during a typical day.

Workers in the United States, like the workers surveyed across other countries, report fewer interruptions per hour in the 1999 study than in 1998 -- in fact, U.S. workers reporting interruptions in 1999 dropped by 16%. "This significant drop in interruptions suggests that tools and other organizing systems have been assimilated into America's corporate culture," said Meredith Fischer, co-author of the study and vice president, Pitney Bowes Inc. "Even today's newest messaging tools are quickly being viewed as normal parts of one's functional workday, as opposed to major interruptions. Simply put, many workers can no longer imagine life without these tools."

Pitney Bowes' study showed that knowledge workers rely on a number of important practices to manage message volume, including filtering and screening messages in order to prioritize responses and activities. In the United States, 82% of workers regularly filter (review and sort) their messages in order to respond to the most important ones first. About 80-85% of workers surveyed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and France also regularly practice screening and filtering. Additional practices such as regulating or automating work processes with organizing features (such as electronic calendars) are important strategies that workers use to manage the volume of both expected and unexpected messages.

"It is safe to say that workers' regular use of prioritization and organization practices coupled with an assimilation of messaging tools in the workplace is leading to a drop in workers' feeling overwhelmed by message volumes," added Fischer.

About the Study

"Messaging for Innovation: Building the Innovation Infrastructure Through Messaging Practices" builds on four years of trend data compiled and examined by Pitney Bowes. This is the first and only study of its kind to examine the complete desktop messaging environment of knowledge workers -- how they use messaging tools to impact their productivity and organizational value. The fourth in a series of studies on Managing Communication in the 21st Century Workplace, the 2000 study was commissioned in partnership with The Institute for the Future -- an independent, nonprofit research firm --and drew on ethnographic interviews or observational interviews, as well as extensive telephone surveys. The research was conducted between January and March 2000 and consisted of interviews with workers at all organizational levels in small, medium, large and Fortune 1000 companies in Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and United States.

For more than 30 years, the Institute for the Future, based in Silicon Valley, California, has forecasted critical technological, demographic and business trends to help clients plan successfully for their future, including government groups, nonprofit organizations and major corporations throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.4 billion global provider of informed mail and messaging management. It serves 118 countries through dealer and direct operations. For more information about the company, visit www.pitneybowes.com.

CONTACT: Cunningham Communication, Inc.

             Karen Fadden Fabbri, 617/494-8202
             kfadden@ccipr.com
             or
             Pitney Bowes Inc.
             Sheryl Battles,
             Executive Director, External Affairs
             203/351-6808
             battlesh@pb.com