Aussies Ready To Rage Over Email Overload
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Email may be the preferred mode of communicating in the office, but it is a key contributor to workplace stress, according to a new study by IBM, with nearly half of Australian office workers saying they find irrelevant and unanswered emails in their inbox stressful.


The study by Galaxy Research, which polled 629 full time managerial office workers, said that as many as 45 percent of respondents found having irrelevant emails in their inbox makes for a stressful workplace, with 7 percent finding it very stressful.

Half of respondents agreed that unanswered emails also contributes to workplace stress.

When questioned about the need to constantly respond to emails, 48 percent of workers found this stressful, and in organisations with more than 500 employees this rose to a high of 54 percent, indicating employees in larger companies are struggling to deal with higher volumes of email.

The survey shows that whilst email remains the most commonly used communication tool in the workplace, it is often overwhelming or used in the wrong way, leading to avoidable workplace stress.

James Gorry, Business Unit Executive, Lotus Software, IBM Australia and New Zealand, said: “Australian workers are looking for alternative ways to work more productively, and to find tools that can help alleviate workplace stress, rather than increase it.”

He said Australian organisations are missing an opportunity to encourage the adoption of enterprise grade social networking tools, which could both increase employee morale as well as drive a more efficient workforce.

58 percent of managers, and 68 percent of Gen Y office workers, still regard email as the most preferred form of business communication, followed by face to face meetings (23 percent) and telephone (15 percent). 

However, 71 percent of workers admitted that they have sent an email to the wrong person by mistake, and nearly half (47 percent) admitted hitting ‘Reply to All’ instead of ‘Reply’ or the opposite at sometime in the past. As many as 59 percent of managers have tried to recall an email but it was too late, and 49 percent have said something in an email which they later regretted.

68 percent of respondents also said they have hidden behind emails, rather than make a phone call or conduct a face to face meeting where it would have been more appropriate. As many as 52 percent admit to this kind of evasion on more than one occasion with men (56 percent) being more prone to this tactic than women (47 percent).

Although email is pervasive, a clear preference for the Gen Y group was instant messaging, to help reduce the number of emails they receive. 46 percent said embracing more instant collaboration tools would make good business sense.