Get the message, don't take one

These findings, from a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) poll, point to a worrying divide between old economy and new economy work patterns, a divide that may scupper the success of some budding clicks-and-mortar businesses.

Apparently old economy managers are especially miffed that email and mobile phones mean they can be contacted at any time, and circumvent that gatekeeper par excellence, the PA.

And while IT increases productivity, it also increases the pressure to perform, so managers end up working harder, they say.

But however entrenched in age-old business ways senior managers are, they should change. They must embrace developments such as the internet, always-on messaging and mobile communication.

A Bloor Research analyst silicon.com spoke to said a stick-in-the-mud boss is likely to have an unhealthy influence on the whole of his or her company. While that may be true in some cases, often these leaders will be seen by their underlings for what they are. Younger, more junior employees won't understand a reluctance to move with the times and if a technophobic culture pervades a business, they will walk.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of new economy companies with relatively accessible executives out there. They are playing to the same survival of the fittest rules. And they're looking for staff.