A lot of us out there know that your leaving the house without your keys is not as nerve-wracking as forgetting your mobile phone. These smartphones encase our whole lives. We use them to check email, text, make all our phone calls, communicate on social networks, write to-do lists, adjust banking transactions -- everything but brush our teeth really. 

So it should be no surprise that a new survey conducted by Good Technology has found that more than 80% of us use our mobile phones to do our work, even outside the office -- on average, up to seven extra hours a week.

That's 365 more hours a year, working via mobile phone off the clock.  

While 60% of us are doing work that is really just helping us stay organized -- note to self, clean up email after this article -- roughly half feel like there is no other choice but to do this work outside the office via smartphone in order to stay on schedule. And because of this work life/personal life melding, 31% of respondents said that they  find it hard to 'switch off.' 

"In today's 'always on' mobile environment, secure access to corporate email and apps is a 'must have' vs. a 'nice to have' for nearly all companies," said John Herrema, senior vice president of corporate strategy for Good Technology, in a statement. "While most of our customers believe their employees do work more hours as a result of this accessibility, they also appreciate and welcome the enhanced work-life balance that comes when employees have more freedom and choice to get work done whenever and wherever they need to --whether that's in the office, on the road, or while sitting in the stands at a child's baseball game."

The study also revealed:

68% of people check their work emails before 8 a.m.

The average American first checks their phone around 7:09 a.m.

50% check their work email while still in bed.

The work day is growing - 40% still do work email after 10 p.m.

69% will not go to sleep without checking their work email.

57% check work emails on family outings.

38% routinely check work emails while at the dinner table.

So I'd like to know how many people after reading this would like to come with me to a tech-free escape on a tropical island. It might be the only way to escape this shift in how we live our lives.

(Image Source: Purepakistani.com)