3 Signsof a

Toxic Email Culture

Today’s Email Landscape

The average knowledge worker in 2015 sends and receives 122 emails each day, up from 110 just a few

years ago. If trends and projections hold true, this number will jump to 126 by by 2019.

Emails Managed Per Day

It takes a lot of time and effort to manage 122 emails each day. In fact, employees who use email as a part of their daily work routine spend an average of 13 hours per week in email, a practice that eats up 32% of the workweek.

Hours Spent in Email Per Week

Information workers check their email an average of 36 times per hour, meaning roughly every 1.7

minutes. This habitual task-switching results in heightened levels of stress and lower levels of

productivity.

Frequency Email Is Checked Per Hour

According to SaneBox’s analysis of over 2 million emails, just 38% of messages received in the first half of 2015 were important enough to be filtered into the recipient’s inbox. The remaining 62% were still real emails (not SPAM), but did not command enough importance to be seen or taken care of right away.

% of Emails That Are Unimportant

122

13

36

62

“The costs of email are disproportionately loaded on the recipient, who constantly has to divide attention between email and other tasks. Recipients have to engage in constant monitoring to live up to the sender’s expectations according to acceptable reaction times in answering emails”

- Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace

UrgentEmails

After-HoursEmails

Overly CC’d

Emails

The Wrong Way to Use Work Email

Emails sent for urgent tasks, sent outside of typical working hours, and sent to more people than necessary are three key

signs of a toxic email culture. Fortunately, with a little awareness and practice, companies can enact simple yet effective strategies to combat these common problems.

Sign #1: Urgent Tasks Are Sent Via Email

When email becomes your go-to channel for delivering urgent messages, you’ve got a problem.

“Urgent Emails” Should Be An Oxymoron

When we send urgent questions and action items via email, we run into one or both of these problems: 1) the urgent need is not met on time, 2) we train each other to compulsively check our inboxes. The downside of the first scenario is seen almost immediately when deadlines are missed, and the repercussions of the second are often worse over time. Why? Research by leading expert on workplace issues Gloria Mark, Ph.D., shows that it takes an average of 23 minutes to resume our original task after being interrupted at work. That means just three email interruptions can cost us up to an hour of time.

The Problem

Eliminate urgent emails and set the expectation that colleagues will address

pressing matter via more appropriate forms of communication, such as a phone call or face-to-face conversation. A good

rule is that if something requires a response within three hours, don’t use

email.

The Solution

Sign #2: Emails Are Sent After-Hours

Evening and weekend emails contribute to a 24-hour email culture that pressures employees to monitor their

email around the clock.

A 24-7 Balancing Act

Employees within a 24-hour email culture spend an average of 33 minutes per day on email outside of work hours, and 39 percent say they will always open a new email after-hours, even if they are not supposed to be working. Research also shows that, while employees feel negatively about emailing after hours, many believe their jobs require them to check email at home and on the weekends.

The Problem

If your company claims to support work-life balance, it’s especially important to

prevent this kind of culture from developing. Start managing expectations.

Clearly discourage employees from sending emails outside of business hours.

If you do compose an email during this time, save it as a draft or schedule it to be

sent in the morning.

The Solution

Sign #3: Emails Are Sent to Too Many Recipients

If multiple people are copied on most emails, there may be a deeper problem with your organization.

To Cc Or Not to Cc

Excessive copying may be a symptom of insecurity or mistrust among employees, who feel the need to copy everyone in order to cover their bases. This toxic habit magnifies the productivity drain, as each recipient’s work is interrupted. It also provides a loophole for punting responsibility; with so many recipients, it can be unclear as to who needs to respond or take action. Finally, it can open up a string of “reply alls” that can cause confusion (and frustration).

The Problem

The SolutionClean up email confusion by copying only those

who truly need to receive the information. If you’re asking multiple people to take different actions, send them separate emails with clear

action items.

“It turns out that the most productive thing we can do is to stop working on someone else’s task list and figure out a more useful contribution instead. This is what separates great organizations from good ones, and extraordinary careers from frustrated ones,”

- Seth Godin | Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur, Marketer

We’re here to help.

SaneBox works on top of your existing email account. It prioritizes important emails and summarizes the rest. Nothing to download, install or learn—it just works.

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