Why emails from work make us ill

IF you answer work emails all through the night in the hope of boosting your career, you may want to try a different strategy.

A study found that people who are constantly connected to the office suffer from ‘work overload’ – meaning they perform worse and are more likely to quit the role.

This is thought to be because the ‘anticipatory stress’ of always waiting for the next email means that workers are never able to switch off emotionally, leaving them no time to recuperate from the day itself.

Researchers from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania questioned 297 people from a range of professions about their time spent emailing outside work, their perception of work-life balance and levels of emotional exhaustion.

They found a clear link between those who answered messages out of hours and the inability to ‘turn off’. The team said: ‘Email is notorious as an impediment of the recovery process.

‘Its accessibility contributes to work overload because it allows employees to engage as if they never left the workspace. At the same time, it inhibits their ability to psychologically detach from work-related issues.’ The researchers added: ‘If people cannot disconnect from work and recuperate, it leads to burnout, higher turnover, lower productivity, and other undesirable outcomes.’

They suggested that employers consider having an email-free day each week, if they are unable to completely ban emails outside working hours.

Alternatively, staff could be placed on a rota to covers emails after hours, leaving others time to focus on their families.

The study says: ‘Such policies may not only reduce pressure to reply to emails after hours and relieve the exhaustion from stress, but will also serve as a signal of organisational caring and support, potentially increasing job commitment.’

The research comes after another study found that we spend an entire day every week online.

The average person spends around 20 hours on the internet over seven days – but this rises to 27 hours for those aged between 16 and 24.

According to media research firm Enders Analysis, Britons now spend twice as much time online as they did ten years ago.