Sending Emails After Work Hours – 5 Damages It Is Doing to You | 6 Tips on How You Can Avoid It

Key Takeaway

Sending Emails After Work Hours can disrupt your work-life balance by causing sleep disturbances, family conflicts, and potential burnout. To counter this, communicate with your team about expectations, use schedule send features, turn off notifications, set automatic out-of-office replies, and learn to delegate or say no to after-hours requests. Prioritizing your well-being by setting boundaries can help maintain a healthier work-life balance and prevent late-night emails from taking over your personal time.

We all know the drill: we’re supposed to leave work at work. But in the age of the smartphone, it’s all too easy to get sucked into the black hole of after-hours email. But, sending emails after work hours – Is it a productivity booster or a one-way ticket to Burnoutville? 🤯

The Risks of Sending Emails After Work Hours

We’ve all been there. You’re winding down for the evening, maybe catching up on Netflix or finally getting to that book, when ping – an email from your boss lands in your inbox. Suddenly, you’re back in work mode, your mind racing with to-dos and deadlines.

While the occasional late-night email might seem harmless, this habit can snowball into a major work-life balance wrecker.

• Sleepless Nights and Anxious Mornings: William Becker, an associate professor of management at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business, co-authored a study that shows when employers expect employees to answer emails after work hours, it makes them anxious, which is bad for their health and the health of their families. Constantly checking emails after work can lead to increased anxiety and disrupt your sleep. Remember, a well-rested mind is a productive mind!
• Blurred Lines and Family Feuds: When work emails creep into your personal time, it can cause friction with loved ones who feel neglected.

• The Burnout Express: Chyi-Huey Bai, a Professor in the Department of Public Health, has done a study on Long Hours’ Effects on Work-Life Balance and Satisfaction. The study showed direct correlations between long work hours, occupational stress, and work-life balance. Always being “on” can lead to burnout, leaving you exhausted and unproductive.
• The recipient may not see your email right away: If you send an email outside of regular work hours, the recipient may not immediately see your email. They may be busy with other things and won’t have time to check their email until the next day. By then, your email will be buried under a bunch of other messages.
• Productivity decreases: There is a misconception that the longer you work, the more productive you will be. But this is not true. After-hour work emails can decrease productivity because they can cause employees to feel overwhelmed and stressed. People lose focus when they are tired and stressed. This can lead to employees taking longer to complete tasks, and it can also lead to them making more mistakes and reworking. All these lead to less productivity.

Recommended reading: How to Keep Your Emails Concise and to the Point | 10 Must-know Tips for Young Professionals!

How to Avoid Sending & Responding to Work Emails After Hours

So, how do we break free from the shackles of after-hours emails? Here are a few tips:

• Manage your expectations: Have an open conversation with your boss and colleagues about expectations for after-hours communication.
• Schedule Send: Most email platforms allow you to schedule emails to be sent during work hours, even if you draft them at night. A few quick tutorials on how to schedule an email in different mail clients and platforms are given below:

1. How to Schedule email to send later in Outlook
2. How to Schedule email to send later in Gmail (Computer)
3. How to Schedule email to send later in Gmail (Android)
4. How to Schedule email to send later in Gmail (iPhone & iPad)

• Turn off notifications: Turn off email notifications outside of work hours. Your phone buzzing at 10 pm can wait until morning. A few quick tutorials on how to turn off email notifications in different mail clients and platforms are given below:

1. How to turn off email notifications of Outlook on your Android and iOS
2. How to turn off email notifications in Gmail (Android)
3. How to turn off email notifications on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

• Using a custom after-hours email signature: A custom-made email signature for after-hours could be helpful, especially if you work for a global company. People who get your emails, even if they’re on the other side of the world, will know when you work by looking at your email signature. Below is an example of after-hours email signature.

My working hours are from UTC 11:00 to 19:00, so I’m sending this message now. Feel free to read, act on or respond at a time that works for you.

Laurie Greer, Vice President at NextUp, shared the benefits of changing email signatures to reflect a flexible work schedule with a few examples.

• Delegate and Conquer: If possible, delegate urgent matters to a colleague who is available.
• Embrace the Power of “No”: It’s okay to say ‘No’ to non-urgent requests outside work hours.
• Set up an autoresponder: You can set up an auto-response message that will pop up in your colleague’ (inside your organization) email app even before they hit the ‘Send’ button. The same message will automatically be sent to anyone (inside or outside of the organization) who email you after your chosen cutoff time. HubSpot explained 3 reasons why you should use auto-response emails. A few quick tutorials on how to set ‘Out of office’ replies in different mail clients and platforms are given below:

1. Setup Out of Office and Send Automatic Replies from Outlook for Mac in 8 Easy Steps
2. How to send ‘Out of office’ or vacation replies in Gmail (Computer, Android, iPhone & iPad)

A very simple after-hours email example is as follows:

Hello,

Thank you for your email. Our business hours are [insert hours]. If you are receiving this message outside of our normal business hours, please note that we will respond to your email as soon as possible when we return to the office.
If your inquiry requires immediate attention, please contact [insert emergency contact information].

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

You can check out more than 30 after-hours email response templates from the GoCRM blog.

The Bottom Line: Work-Life Balance Matters

Remember, your well-being and personal time are just as important as your work. By setting boundaries and managing expectations, you can avoid the pitfalls of after-hours emails and create a healthier work-life balance.

Let’s reclaim our evenings and leave work at work, one email at a time!

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