Thoughts on sending emails outside of working hours

This blog post is repurposed from a very long Twitter thread (which became a bit unthreaded)…

Over the last week, I have seen several discussions on Twitter about the implications of sending emails outside of standard working hours, particularly on weekends. The simplest form of this debate boils down to ‘Don’t do this’. However, there are many counterarguments, many of which are valid. 

Most notably, it is increasingly common to have teams where people work flexible hours and work outside of standard office hours as part of their contract (I’ll leave aside the even more obvious case of teams that are internationally distributed).

A second common argument for sending emails during evenings and weekends is that people are catching up after busy days/weeks and evenings/weekends are the only time they have to actually send emails that need to be sent.

I have some sympathy for this argument as I know only too well what it can feel like to have a day full of meetings, leaving no time to actually take forward action items agreed at any meeting.

What has been missed from the discussion?

There are a couple of important areas which I think have not really been covered in these Twitter debates. 

Firstly, I’m assuming that some (but not many) businesses may have policies in place that clarify expectations about email use. This should really be considered a part of general workplace culture. If a policy is in place then the issue is whether people are adhering to it.

Sending emails late at night can create an expectation to others that they are also expected to work late…especially when emails are from people higher up the chain of management. 

I bet most senders of such emails don’t ever *intend* to create such an expectation, but if this is not clearly stated then it feels like it does generate a sense of pressure.

However, I’m sure that it is hard to develop practical workplace policies that can address all of the myriad exceptions and complications that can arise around how email could and should be used in the workplace.  

For instance, in my own line of work (communications), it is not unreasonable to expect to receive emails at all times of the week. We frequently issue press releases with midnight embargoes and work to promote such news on our website and social media channels. 

More relevant to the field of communications is the fact that sometimes emergencies happen which necessitate important emails. Clearly, there are times when it is perfectly acceptable to send emails at any time of the day.

Are you sending email for the wrong reasons?

This leads me to my second point which hasn’t really been covered in a lot of the discussion I’ve seen. Why is the person sending an email late at night or at the weekends? 

Are they emailing at that time because it is part of their working hours? Are they emailing about a critically time-sensitive issue or an emergency? Have they had a day full of meetings and are just trying to catch up?

If the answers to any of these questions are ‘yes’ then the email is probably justified. However, this leaves the occasions where people work regular 9-5 hours but frequently persist — out of necessity or enjoyment — in continuing to work.

I will admit to working out of hours for my own personal pleasure. I like solving technical problems and I love working with spreadsheets. So last weekend I spent time trying to better model website traffic in light of GDPR restrictions because I want to do this and I found it fun. However, I didn’t send any emails about it to anyone.

So I think excessive evening/weekend emails from people who have less of a justification for sending them is my real issue in this debate. Rightly or wrongly, such emails can create a sense of pressure to those receiving them. 

It also sends signals about the wider organisational culture. Should it be accepted that people need to work a lot of additional hours to stay on top of their jobs?

Some suggestions on how to improve things

To end this post, I want to offer five suggestions for ways to improve this.

1. If you need to work outside of standard hours, and that work involves email, feel free to write your emails but don’t send them (save as draft). Wait until you are next in the office before sending.

2. Use technology to help (if possible). Some email clients allow (or have plug-ins that allow) emails to be scheduled. Some tools offer the ability to flag certain contacts as VIPs, and then notifications can be configured to only alert you when VIP contacts email you (admittedly this is not a huge help if a VIP contact sends you lots of emails outside normal hours). 

3. Prefix emails with suitable disclaimers to set expectations accordingly, e.g. “Catching up on a backlog of work tonight, please do not look at this until you are next in the office”. Alternatively, include such information in your email signature (h/t Kat Arney via Ben Kolbington)

4. More broadly, set clear expectations for your team/department, e.g. when new people start, explain to them whether they will or will not be expected to sometimes check (or send) emails out of hours.

5. Lobby your organisation. If multiple people feel burdened by the pressure from receiving late night and weekend demands, investigate the possibility of establishing a workplace policy that might offer some clearer guidance on the expectations of employees.