We all know the feeling. You’ve clocked off for the day and are trying to put your work woes to one side in the pub with friends. While your laptop may be firmly closed, your phone is never far from sight, and it isn’t long until the familiar ping sound heralds the arrival of an email from your manager. It’s not urgent, but it nevertheless raises your heart rate, increases your stress levels and brings your mind right back to work.

That’s the thing with the all-hours availability of modern tech. While it means we can connect with friends and family any time and any place, it also means that work encroaches on life all too easily. Receiving and responding to emails outside working hours never feels good, but recent research has found that work-related communication during personal time can cause all manner of negative effects – for employers as well as employees. 

The research was conducted in the US through a survey of more than 300 full-time employees across various industries. The results were very clear: communicating about work outside business hours leads to mental and emotional exhaustion and this, in turn, can lead to counterproductive work behaviour and even burnout. So even though it feels like you’re working harder when you respond to that late email, the long-term effects are likely to be negative.

Throughout the survey, answering emails after hours was linked to worse productivity, but also to employees badmouthing their employers and other negative behaviours. According to the survey, it can also increase tension between employees in the workplace.

While most of us are familiar with the drawbacks of increasingly blurred lines between work and home life, the people behind the research were surprised by the extent of the results. “In my opinion, this study is a critical wake-up call, highlighting the need for clear boundaries that protect employees’ personal time from becoming just another extension of their workday,” says Myoung-Gi Chon, a professor of communications and one of the brains behind the research.

So next time you feel the pressure to respond – or send – an email outside working hours, remember that you might benefit your workplace, as well as yourself, by switching off from your inbox and enjoying whatever it is you’re doing in your free time.

Images: Getty