Email is often used inappropriately. Overuse reduces overall productivity through decreased worker health, distractions, and workplace stress.
- Enterprises must intervene by changing the corporate culture. Top-down initiatives must be implemented to change the culture, particularly the expectation of 24-7 responses, CYA emails, and reply all.
- Email interventions must include both policy-driven changes and technology enablers for new behaviours.
- Aligning the social tools with the cultural changes will reduce email addiction as well as contribute to a less stressful workplace.
The patterns of communication are driven by the convergence of three things: consumer devices, growth of social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and the increased adoption of instant messaging. Any future strategy for email must consider these three trends.