Weekend emails - the quick way to demoralise your team
Twenty years ago, I watched someone send an email from their BlackBerry on a ski lift in the Alps and felt an uncontrollable wave of jealousy. I wanted to be him.
I was a teacher at the time, accompanying 25 kids up the mountain to their lesson. In the seat opposite sat a young executive in brand-new snowboard kit, tapping away on his BlackBerry, sending work emails on a Sunday afternoon.
“Wow,” I thought as I hid my Nokia 3210 in my bag. “I want his job.”
I was jealous of his phone, his shiny snowboard and, most of all, the fact he could work from anywhere.
Twenty years later, I realise how lucky I was … and how unlucky he was.
That poor guy never got to switch off.
Why weekend emails matter
Many leaders I’ve worked with are proud of their work ethic and of always being “on”. That’s fine, it’s their passion, and many genuinely love what they do. But what they often don’t realise is that their weekend working can have a serious negative effect on the rest of their team.
Recent research has shown that responding to after-hours emails increases burnout and workplace tension, and reduces productivity and job satisfaction.
When a passionate founder, CEO or team leader is happily tinkering away on their weekend passion project and firing off emails, employees feel obliged to respond instantly. They can’t fully disconnect from work or be properly present at home because they feel they need to be on alert.
I’ve spoken to many managers about this, and they all insist they don’t expect a reply until Monday.
Their teams don’t believe them.
Their employees feel they have no choice. They worry that silence signals a lack of commitment. Research from Laura Giurge and co-authors found that when people receive out-of-hours emails, they overestimate how fast the sender expects a response, which raises stress even if the sender is relaxed about timing.
Why unsolicited weekend emails are so harmful
According to the US Surgeon General, to feel happy at work you need a sense of work–life balance and, importantly, a feeling of autonomy. People with more autonomy tend to be happier; those with little control over their schedule (shift workers, for example) are often the least happy.
Receiving emails at the weekend harms both needs:
You cannot disconnect from work and be fully present with your friends and family. You don’t get the work life balance you need.
You lose control over your time, which reduces your sense of autonomy.
A simple request
To every well-meaning weekend-working boss: please stop sending your team emails out of hours. It will make your team happier.
Tip of the week - Use “schedule send.”
If your email can wait until Monday at 9am, schedule it for Monday at 9am. Your team will be happier and, importantly, when you do need them to go the extra mile, they’ll be far more willing.
Power tip - make it 0915 or 0930
Schedule your emails to arrive after the morning rush. It gives your team time to settle in before reading your weekend musings.
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