science

Banning employees from reading office emails at home could stress them out MORE


Banning employees from reading office emails at home could stress them out MORE ‘if it stops them achieving work goals’

  • Researchers found people deal with their overflowing inboxes in different ways
  • For career-focused people or those who were anxious, this could be at home
  • France has a law which limits when people can send work-related emails 
  • Volkswagen makes it impossible for people to do so outside of the working day 

Banning employees from reading their work emails outside of the office could actually be bad for their mental health.

Researchers claim people who are career goal-driven feel frustrated if they can’t take extra time to cope with their overflowing inbox.

The finding flies in the face of a growing field of de-stressing advice, company policies and even laws which urge people to disconnect or avoid taking work home.

In fact, the scientists said, it would be better for people to do whatever made them most comfortable, rather than making policies some would struggle to cope with.

Researchers said that people who are very focused on career goals or are less emotionally stable and therefore prone to work-related burnout might benefit from being able to reduce their workload outside of office hours (stock image)

Researchers said that people who are very focused on career goals or are less emotionally stable and therefore prone to work-related burnout might benefit from being able to reduce their workload outside of office hours (stock image)

The team from the University of Sussex used surveys of almost 6,000 people for their study.

They acknowledged the stress a constantly filling email inbox can cause and said taking time outside of work to keep it under control could be helpful.

People who became anxious about the amount of work they had to cram into the nine-to-five, they said, might benefit from lenient rules.

‘The take-away for the public from our research is that “one size fits all” solutions for dealing with work email are unlikely to work,’ said Dr Emma Russell.

The leader of the research, Dr Emma Russell, said: 'The take-away for the public from our research is that "one size fits all" solutions for dealing with work email are unlikely to work' (stock image)

The leader of the research, Dr Emma Russell, said: ‘The take-away for the public from our research is that “one size fits all” solutions for dealing with work email are unlikely to work’ (stock image)

WHAT IS BURN-OUT?

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes burn-out as ‘chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,’ along with three defining symptoms: 

  1. feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
  2. increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and 
  3. reduced professional efficacy 

The listing in the WHO’s catalog (the ICD-11) notes that ‘burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.’

It is distinct, the authors say, from other types of adjustment disorder, disorders specifically associated with stress, anxiety or fear-related disorders, and mood disorders – all of which have their own classifications. 

‘Despite the best intentions of… instructing all employees to switch off their emails outside of work hours to avoid being stressed, this policy would be unlikely to be welcomed by employees who prioritise work performance goals and who would prefer to attend to work outside of hours if it helps them get their tasks completed.’

In France it became an actual law in 2017 to require companies with more than 50 employees to limit the times staff could send or answer emails.

New York City has considered becoming the first to afford employees the legal ‘right to disconnect’.

And the German car manufacturer, Volkswagen, has configured its email system so people only receive them within half an hour of the start or end of the working day and never at weekends.

In the study Dr Russell and her colleagues asked people how and when they managed their inboxes and interacted with others.

They found that people who were considered to have lower emotional stability were more likely to prefer being in control at all times.

Likewise, people whose main goals were oriented around their work were more likely to want to stay connected so they could make better progress.

The research was published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour.



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