DEVELOPMENT
Keeping up with all the new inputs we receive from a wide range of technological devices takes up a lot of our time each day . And it can cause the following …
Stress As you will know this is a key issue in the workplace with several negative outcomes . And email overload is a significant contributor . A large-scale survey of academic and administrative staff at an Australian university showed staff who receive work email on their mobile devices said that , because colleagues know they are always accessible , the perceived pressure to respond quickly is heightened . Staff consider it stressful to leave a message alone when the sender knows it has been received .
Chronic distraction The opposite of attention is distraction – an unnatural condition and one that can kill . Chronic , long-term distraction is as dangerous as cigarette smoking ! In particular , there is the great myth of multitasking . No human being can effectively write an email and speak on the telephone . Both activities use language , and the language channel in the brain can ’ t cope . Multi-taskers fool themselves by rapidly switching attention and , as a result , their output deteriorates . Research shows people in chronically distracted jobs are , in early middle age , appearing with the same symptoms of burnout as air traffic controllers . They might have stress-related diseases , even irreversible brain damage . And the damage is not from overwork , it ’ s from multiple distracted work .
Attention deficit disorder When a manager is desperately trying to deal with more input than they can possibly handle , the brain and body get locked into a reverberating circuit while the brain ’ s frontal lobes lose their sophistication – as if vinegar were added to wine . Those affected do not have what is considered clinical attention deficit disorder ( ADT ). They simply can ’ t focus on a task without compulsively checking their email , voice mail and / or surfing the internet . The result is black and white thinking – perspective and shades of grey disappear . People with ADT have difficulty staying organised , setting priorities and managing time . And they feel a constant low level of panic and guilt .
Lowered IQ The advent of highly mobile technology offers massive productivity benefits when used responsibly . But inappropriate use can be negative for not just productivity – our IQ is impacted too . It seems workers are literally addicted to checking email and text messages during meetings , in the evening and on weekends . In a series of tests carried out by Dr Glenn Wilson , reader in personality at the University of London ’ s Institute of Psychiatry , an average worker ’ s functioning IQ falls 10 points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming emails . The way we work is ‘ dumbing us down ’.
Constant pressure to respond In many studies , staff at all levels have revealed a strong sense of pressure to respond to incoming email in a very short time frame . While prompt responses are sometimes part of explicit organisational policy , this pressure to respond quickly has developed as a norm . Several studies report a tangible impact of this normative pressure to respond quickly can lead to strain , overload , compulsive checking and reactive decision-making . In addition , a culture where email use has become highly embedded in one ’ s work ( and therefore likely to consume major portions of people ’ s daily work activity ), combined with norms for quick responding leads to these behaviours becoming automated / habitual and even compulsive . This creates addictive tendencies for individuals .
Lack of trust When there is a lack of trust within an organisation , a ‘ covering your back ’ email norm can emerge . This is reflected in overuse of ‘ cc ’ and ‘ bcc ’ emails , presenteeism ( being busy with email instead of undertaking productive work ) and the suspicion that leads to keeping audit trails of email conversation threads / chains . When email is used to cover one ’ s back in these ways , it arguably not only reflects but exacerbates the lack of trust . Because email is so convenient there is a danger workers can end up ‘ hiding behind ’ it , using email to avoid sensitive or controversial conversations – or even face-to-face contact . Hiding behind email creates a lack of respect and regard for the initiator and can diminish trust .
Self-esteem When individuals feel overloaded by email and have a lack of capacity to deal with it ( and all the subsequent demands ) effectively , it has a negative impact on their self-esteem and confidence . For example , when asked to estimate how often they checked their email – to compare with objectively derived software monitoring figures – workers predicted they checked email around once every hour . In fact , it was more like once every five minutes . This demonstrates a misalignment of objective measures of physiological strain with well-being . S
You can read the full white paper on this topic at steuartsnooks . com . au / resources
THE EXPERT
Steuart Snooks is an email and workplace productivity expert who works with busy professionals to help them get control of all their emails . He has developed a series of workshops , presentations , webinars , coaching and resources that outline the best practice skills for mastering your email .
Summer Issue 2025 | Executive PA 53