Sending Work Email Late At Night?

Discussion in 'Working Women' started by Rihana, Oct 6, 2020.

  1. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Assuming that all are in the same time zone, can it be rude, inconsiderate or just a bad idea to send work emails late at night?

    Does it reflect negatively in any way on the sender? Shows she has bad time-management skills?
     
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  2. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    I thought: Some people have a busy work day filled with meetings, so they get time to reply to emails only late at night. As long as the recipient is not expected to respond right away, it is OK to send emails late at night, the recipient will read them in the morning.

    But: Apparently, just receiving the email alert can stress out people, and they feel pressured to respond. So, it is better to send emails between 9am and 6pm as far as possible.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2020
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  3. Afresh

    Afresh Gold IL'ite

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    Hey,
    I would say that we should definitely try and restrict sending emails at any time, as it does definitely induce stress on some people.
    However, if there is clear understanding that people can log off their work emails and only be available for the time slot expected in office, then sending emails anytime is ok
    Currently, the situation is that everyone is on the electronic gadgets all the time and it would be more prudent even for health reasons to stick to certain office hours ( in general) for work related emails.
    Alas, its more a wish than real in current circumstances :)
     
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  4. Hopikrishnan

    Hopikrishnan Platinum IL'ite

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    The receiver of that email deserves the anguish, if s/he were sleeping with the whatever that can do an email-alert at night.

    So long as the sender doesn't expect any action on the email, till much later, there's nothing to worry about. People work when they have the time. Sending late night emails (in the same time zone) is just fine.
     
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  5. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    That's the thing. Like beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, the email reading stress lies squarely with the recipient.
     
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  6. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    That's a totally unkind thing to say. You deserve a detached corner cubicle, away from others, and not for complimentary reasons.

    Is it fine? Now that I am thinking more about it, it is not a pleasant feeling that others get to know you are up sending emails when one is supposed to be sleeping with whatever that can do an email-alert.
     
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  7. Afresh

    Afresh Gold IL'ite

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    I am still not sure if that parallel works for everyone
    That I say because, generally people who would stress out from such a receipt are the ones with a conscience; Which implies that they would be better workers ; which implies they would be a more valuable asset to the concerned bosses or superior ( assumption here : that emails rcvd from superiors raise the stress levels ); Which implies that it might be in the interest of the efficiency of work to keep such individuals / employees free from stress :D;
    Lots of implications there ! ;)
     
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  8. Needtobestrong

    Needtobestrong Platinum IL'ite

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    I don’t think we can assume bad time management skills or take It negatively if a mail is sent late in the night..depends on the personal situation if the person...when both husband and wife are working and they have a baby/toddler /kid/ or 2 kids and the child or children are below the age of 8 it’s very tough to follow a proper routine or timing..due to Covid issue , child care is a real challenge, daycares closed and couples hesitating to hire nannies or baby sitters as it’s an added risk...those who have elders staying within them would still have additional chores to do...
    There are also online classes for kids..when parents would be required to participate...
    When all are at home there would be interruptions during the usual 9-6 work time and no clear demarcation between office and home..
    I’m not working, but I got feedback from exhausted working moms about how they’re able to actually get some work done and reply to mails only after 9 pm when kids go to sleep...and lot of people are actually not “morning persons”, and are likely to be more productive in late evenings...
    A friend of mine has a pre school kid , husband and in laws at home,..she works from home and I know how crazy it is for her...
    .in general if I know that the person who sent late night mails has been busy throughout the day with meetings , has personal responsibilities, and mail is not urgent or requiring urgently response from receivers, I would ignore the time at which it was sent.
     
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  9. Anisu

    Anisu Platinum IL'ite

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    Depends on the content of email or the action required from the other person. The reminder emails where you expect an action from other end would be sent during office hours. If we are not able to sync up with colleague or reportee that day in the busy schedule,then an email in the night would do. If it is a response to a tricky email which needs a lot of thought process , then those emails would get drafted in the night but sent in the working hours.
    Closing on the email which has our less dependency would take a back seat and responded in the night. These are the trends i have seen generally.
     
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  10. sanjuruby3

    sanjuruby3 Platinum IL'ite

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    Depends on your team, role and email - content as previous poster said.

    If you responding to some important topic late at night , assuming you were available in the morning hours too - means you did not pay attention.
    If needs something to be reviewed - like peer performance review - should be okay, since you wanted some time to think, some calm around to draft such stuff.
    If it is related to some time- bound work or code - again not right.
    If you work with offshores team - should be okay.
    Also, these days, everyone understands as we all manage kids and home, we all have to sometimes be unavailable to cater to kiddos and come back
     
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