Checking emails after work could increase anxiety
Being expected to check work email during non-work hours is making employees, as well as their significant others, experience higher levels of anxiety, a study shows.
Researchers from Virginia Tech surveyed 108 employees working at least 30 hours per week, 138 significant others and 105 managers and found that the sheer expectation of monitoring work email, rather than the amount of time spent doing so, led to increased anxiety in both employees and their significant others.
“Some employees admitted to monitoring their work email from every hour to every few minutes, which resulted in higher levels of anxiety and conflict between spouses,” co-author William Becker, an associate professor of management in the Pamplin College of Business, told ABC News.
Significant others also reported decreased relationship satisfaction in contrast to employees themselves, whose satisfaction was not affected by the constant monitoring of work email.
Professor Becker asked, “Are we underestimating the effect this is having on our spouses?”
Both partners also reported negative health impacts from the increased anxiety, which may be explained by the well-established relationship between chronic stress and poor physical and mental health outcomes.
“Anxiety can manifest in several ways, including changes in appetite, concentration, focus and decreased quality of sleep. It makes people less productive in their work and home lives,” Dr. Lama Bazzi, who is part of the American Psychiatric Association Board of Directors, told ABC News.
This study comes months after New York Councilman Rafael Espinal introduced a “Right to Disconnect” Bill, the first of its kind in the U.S. and modeled after a similar legislation in France, which would make it unlawful for private employees in New York to respond to work email after hours.
