Health at work: too much checking e-mails is a source of stress

Your work emails could be harmful to your health. This observation, often repeated, was again verified in a survey led by the UK group Future Work Center, which produces studies on work-related well-being. The results of this work will be presented on January 7 at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society.

Some 2,000 people were questioned on the psychological impact of the multiple professional emails received in the course of work, but also during free time. Respondents’ responses reveal a stress related to these messages, and strongly dependent on the frequency of consultation.

Notifications, consultation outside of work …

Thus, those who receive email notifications on their mobile phones seem more exposed to this stress, as do those who leave their mailbox open 24 hours a day (ie 62% of respondents).

Likewise, people who start their day in the morning by checking their emails, and end it at night in the same way, would be more concerned by this stress. Finally, managers are more at risk than others, according to the authors of this work.

Researchers are therefore issuing a number of recommendations for businesses and workers. To the latter, they recommend to check their e-mails only when necessary, and to leave the rest of the time their box closed. “Consider turning off your notifications,” they suggest.

In addition, people who feel pressure related to these emails, and who feel that the quality of personal life is reduced, must imperatively stop consulting their messages outside working hours.

Finally, if the volume of emails appears too high and generates a form of anxiety, the researchers suggest limiting the use of this means of communication to favor others. “A phone call can avoid long chains of emails,” they point out.

Businesses have a role to play

For companies, the researchers advise evaluating the quantity of emails received by employees as a first step, in order to put in place appropriate actions based on documented knowledge of the situation.

If no plan has been deployed, it is first necessary to introduce recommendations on the style, tone and content of electronic messages within the company, but also to promote other communication media ( face to face, by teleconference, through instant messaging, etc.).

Finally, the attitude of the leaders must be scrutinized. Do managers send emails late at night, or on weekends? What tone do they take, and how are their messages likely to be interpreted by employees? Namely that a message written on a smartphone late at night will be perceived as more intrusive and less diplomatic than an email written from a computer keyboard during working hours, further specify the researchers.