Seven good causes to not reply (instantly) to emails | EUROtoday

On May 2, 2025

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PIn 281 billion emails are exchanged day-after-day on the planet, a circulation that by no means dries up. Participants of my research obtain thirty per day on common, and a few greater than 200. All day lengthy, emails flood your messaging, and the concern of drowning may cause stress and burnout. A phenomenon of optimistic strengthening, near the addictive pleasure of the lottery, nonetheless pushes you to need to miss any drop.

In these emails, sender after all demand solutions “by Friday”, “by tomorrow” or “this morning! »(Sic). More than half even awaits an answer per hour. Under these conditions, the temptation is great to be carried by the current rather than trying to go up it. If it has already been criticized for an answer time for the too long emails, here are some arguments, supported by research, to justify the sinking.

1. “Last information, the e-mail is asynchronous”

We only receive postal mail once a day. E-mail arrives by default in continuous flow. An e-mail is consulted on average in less than two minutes of receipt, and 70 % of emails are in six seconds. It takes more than a minute to find the productivity lost by this interruption. Your recipient can only be impressed by the composure which you had to show so as not to respond immediately to his request. Do not pay the frequency of receipt of your mailbox to once a month. The optimal frequency is rather two to four receptions per day.

2. “I by no means reply sizzling”

You in all probability didn’t perceive all of the nuances of the e-mail you will have acquired. It just isn’t your fault, however moderately that of sender, who typically fail to transmit messages as they want. A examine requested members to write down sarcastic or humorous emails. Of course, the recipients by no means perceived them as such. It is nonetheless agreed that emails are completely acceptable to transmit and climb conflicts. If electronic mail irritates you, let it relaxation for a while.

3. “I protect your right to disconnection”

Do not hesitate to brandish the fitting to disconnect as an excuse in order not to answer emails acquired exterior the standard hours of labor. Although it’s glorified by a sure tradition of hyperconnection and acclaimed by workers, this observe brings into battle private life {and professional} life, which is a supply of stress, whose accumulation can result in burnout. In addition, your recipient will undoubtedly pay attention to your reply exterior of his working hours additionally, inflicting him the identical issues. So you’ll do him a service by delaying your reply.

4. “I have too much work”

Studies agree that the reception, studying and writing e-mails lengthen the working days. Reading alone is equal to half an hour a day. Added to that is the time spent on emails exterior the workplace, which is equal, for the International Labor Organization, at time beyond regulation or telework. Although emails are usually helpful for our work, your interlocutor might perceive that you’ve different issues to do …

5. “Your email has been lost (through your fault)”

If you not keep in mind having deleted or ignored electronic mail, it will not be known as for motion. An efficient message is transient, usable, its title is express. Employees educated to write down emails on this approach really feel not solely much less stress, but additionally generate much less stress of their recipients. This excuse is much more believable in case your mantra is theInbox Zero And that your ardour is compulsive messaging cleansing. An worker doesn’t permit his reception field to exceed 20 emails was even seen in a examine. With such a repute, your interlocutors will concern the spell that could be reserved for his or her ineffective emails.

6. “Was your email intended for me?” »»

No one is nostalgic for carbon copy, which consisted in duplicating manuscripts utilizing a sheet of carbon paper. No one will likely be of the homonymous e-mail performance both. Unlike its ancestor, it permits those that use it to ship messages to 1000’s of recipients, for precisely the identical effort as one. An article even went as far as to counsel a “virtual stamp” invoicing workers “on the basis of their quantity of recipients”. The “spectator effect” studied in social psychology explains that the extra individuals possible to assist round us, the much less we really feel the obligation to intervene. A superb excuse not to answer emails of which you aren’t the one recipient.

7. “I don’t like emails”

Maybe you’re extra telephone than E-mail. My analysis exhibits that it’s higher to work together with the communication instruments that we choose. When one among my members declared “I hate the phone”, one other admitted to systematically calling his colleagues. If you do not like electronic mail, have you ever already shared your preferences along with your interlocutors?

Do not abuse these apology!

One of my research has highlighted the phenomenon of “e-mails underload” in those that don’t obtain as many emails as they hope, continually awaiting responses. This phenomenon is a supply of stress in the identical approach because the overload of emails.

To uncover

The kangaroo of the day

Answer

So while you use these apology, remember the fact that, tomorrow, it’s possible you’ll be the one who will refresh your messaging each minute, whereas ready for responses to your emails.

Jean-François Stich, Associate Professor in Human Resources, ICN Business School

https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/sept-bonnes-raisons-de-ne-pas-repondre-immediatement-aux-e-mails-02-05-2025-2588672_23.php