I still remember the days of fax and acetates in the working environment and email was just coming to the fore. In 10 years its use has rocketed to make communication faster and easier on the one hand but overwhelming and pointless on the other. New research from Glasgow & Paisley universities suggest that British workers are now suffering email stress. Here’s some nuggets & food for thought:
More than a third check their inbox every 15 minutes
64% check in more than once an hour
Using monitoring equipment, the researchers found workers viewing emails up to 40 times an hour
33% said they felt stressed by the volume of emails and the need to reply quickly with female workers feeling under more pressure to respond than male
38% said they felt relaxed enough to wait a day before responding
Many workers feel invaded when emails interrupt their work and disrupt concentration
This video has some great tips on keeping your email under control from Merlin Mann @ 43folders
And Virgin Holidays has a 6-step Disconnection Therapy so you actually enjoy your holiday and don’t look like a geek with a blackberry on the beach. Come on, surely we can leave it alone? After all, we’re not running countries.
Source: The Times
