IF YOU refresh your work emails like you do your Facebook feed (that is, after hours, on your couch or in bed), it’s time to stop.
Your explosive inbox (and lightning-fast reply rate, probably) could be harming your wellbeing, according to a new study out of the US of A.
Yes, that insidious email-checking habit you’ve developed over the years is more detrimental than you might have realised, as new data suggests it can lead to emotional exhaustion.
Psychologists in the U.S. surveyed 297 workers – the results of which were published in a paper titled ‘Exhausted, but Unable to Disconnect: The Impact of Email-related Organizational Expectations on Work-family Balance’ – and found that emails out of hours and their associated “always-on culture”, can put employees into a perpetual state of stress.
“Email is notoriously known to be the impediment of the recovery process,” said the authors. “Its accessibility contributes to experience of work overload since it allows employees to engage in work as if they never left the workspace, and at the same time, inhibits their ability to psychologically detach from work-related issues via continuous connectivity.”
Look, it sounds like common sense but it’s easier said than done, right? Well, kind of.
The relief of firing off a response (or just putting out a fire) via your smartphone after hours might feel good in the moment, but it could exacerbate the other stresses of your job, like your workload and frustrating co-workers, for example.
So next time someone sends you a ‘note’ while you’re trying to enjoy Stranger Things (or, you know, sleep) pretend you’re out of signal and reply in the morning. When you’re actually supposed to.