The 7 professions most in need of a digital off switch

YourBusinessNumber has revealed the 7 professions that are most in need of a digital off switch, in a world where we struggle to switch off from work even when at home. 

Instant messaging platforms have made us better able to communicate than ever before and 90% of us now prefer messaging to a phone call. The most popular platform by far is WhatsApp. Boasting approximately 2bn users worldwide, we send over 100bn WhatsApp messages every day with the average user clocking up 18.6 hours per month on the app.

For many it’s become the default method of communication not just within our personal lives, but also professionally. So much so that WhatsApp launched their business focussed version of the app in January 2018 and it’s since clocked up some 50 million global users. 

However, its use as a professional communication tool is likely to be far higher, as George Lineker, Co-founder of YourBusinessNumber, explains. 

“WhatsApp is hugely popular and it’s become the go-to method of communication for many working professionals, both within their place of work and when engaging with clients. But while WhatsApp Business was designed to provide a platform that better facilitates this adoption by the professional world, many of us continue to use our personal accounts linked to our personal numbers.”

But while WhatsApp is arguably one of the most vital tools in the modern day comms arsenal, this lack of distinct separation between our personal and professional lives does have its downsides. 

Perhaps the biggest issue is our failure to fully switch off when we receive and respond to work related messages outside of our working hours. We’re all guilty of this to some extent, but there are some professions that are in far greater need of a digital off switch compared to others. 

YourBusinessNumber allows you to differentiate between your personal and work life without needing two handsets. By generating a second number for you in seconds, the service allows you to become verified by WhatsApp Business within minutes. When the working day is over, you can simply switch off WhatsApp Business leaving you free to relax and unwind without the interruption of any incoming alerts. 

Now they’ve revealed which professions are most in need of this digital off switch based on the most prominent professions utilising their platform. They are: – 

• Estate Agents
• Financial Advisors
• Hair and Beauty Professionals
• Personal Trainers
• Tradesman
• Medical Professionals
• Recruitment Professionals

Lineker concluded:

“Our data clearly shows that those most in need of a digital off switch work in professions where there may be a sense of urgency required outside of the traditional nine to five to get a certain task over the line, or in a role where they simply aren’t able to see or respond to messages while they carry out their day to day work. 

This will, of course, make them more likely to burn the professional candle when they do get home, but the ability to finally call it a night and completely remove themselves from a working mindset is extremely important. Not only is this downtime vital for our own mental health, but it allows us to recharge so we can better execute within our job role the following day.”

Data tables

Job role rankings based on the most prominent number of YourBusinessNumber users.

Professions most in need of a digital off switch

1st: Estate Agent

2nd: Financial advisor

3rd: Hair and beauty

4th: Personal trainer

5th: Tradesman

6th: Medical

7th: Recruitment