What’s next? Caffeine-free Tuesdays? Getting people to talk less with “Um”-free Wednesdays?
The Wall Street Journal reports on U.S. Cellular’s efforts to reduce email stress by declaring “no email Friday.”
A growing number of employers, including U.S. Cellular, Deloitte & Touche and Intel, are imposing or trying out “no email” Fridays or weekends. While the bans typically allow emailing clients and customers or responding to urgent matters, the normal flow of routine internal email is halted. Violators are hit with token fines, or just called out by the boss.
The limits aim to encourage more face-to-face and phone contact with customers and co-workers, raise productivity or just give employees a reprieve from the ever-rising email tide.
Is this a band-aid solution still looking for the problem?
Yes, we’re sending and dealing with more email than ever, but we’re also getting a lot more done on our own timetable. I say: Cut email some slack. Everyone has to come up with their own best solution for dealing with the volume and information overload seven days a week…with the help of sites like Web Worker Daily, of course. Is one day of email cold turkey enough? Is email the habit that needs breaking, or will we simply get our connection and information “fix” somewhere else?
Personally, I find those who interrupt my concentration with an unnecessary phone call (or face-to-face drop-in) to be far more annoying and stress-inducing than those who send 30 messages a day.
If you were forced to avoid email on a specific day of the work week, could you do it? Would you find your time better spent, or would you just postpone matters until you could email again?
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