144 emails received per week on average, more than half of which receive a response in less than an hour, and almost a third of hyper-connected employees: Employees are constantly in demand in the workplace. These are the conclusions revealed this Monday, May 15, at the first Infobesity and Digital Collaboration Observatory (OICN), carried out by the startup Mailoop, which develops solutions to reduce the volume of professional emails exchanged.
At work, this “infobesity” has consequences in terms of mental health of employees and productivity in the company, according to this study -discovered by the parisian – which analyzed 58 million email metadata from more than 9,000 people.
70% of employees take a break in case of notification
On average, an employee receives an average of 144 emails per week, 331 for business leaders. The study denounces the effects of the collaborative tools introduced during the confinement to work remotely, which have multiplied the channels of information and exchange.
“This stratification of communication leads to a rebound effect in the number of messages and a permanent zapping between channels, which fragment and break down work activity,” explains Suzy Canivenic, a Futures of Industry and Work researcher at the Ecole. demines in Paris.
These constant demands degrade the quality of work, while more than 70% of employees report that they stop what they are doing when a notification appears. However, almost 10% of the people analyzed read less than half of their emails each year.
Hyperconnected and hyperreactive
This overflow of messages is aggravated by “the trivialization of work overload, the use of longer hours outside normal working hours, the cult of urgency and the dictatorship of immediate response.” [qui] nurture in all the requirements of hyperavailability and hyperreactivity”, continues the expert Suzy Canivenic.
More than half of the emails received receive a response in less than an hour and just under 10% in less than 5 minutes. The study also shows that 31% of employees are “hyperconnected,” that is, they connect after 8:00 p.m. plus 50 evenings over the course of a year. Leaders are particularly affected, averaging 117 “connected nights” per year.
This “electronic leash” maintains a constant link with the company, even outside working hours and in the private sphere, and reduces individual autonomy.
psychological consequences
Stress, anxiety, exhaustion… information overload and the feeling of permanent urgency cause psychological damage to employees, the study also points out, which advises in particular to reduce the number of emails to manage to a maximum of 100 per week, to limit email conversations with more than 5 people in the loop and call the person in question directly beyond 3 emails exchanged.
He also recommends being aware of the digital shortage and the schedules to send emails, cut notifications on computers and mobile phones, or even clearly define what is urgent with the teams. Keep in mind that the “reply all” feature generates 25% of emails on its own, 30% to copy them: one wonders if it would not be wise to further categorize recipients.
Source: BFM TV
