As a leader, do you email or text employees on the weekend? 📩
Here’s why you shouldn’t.
When people think a work email could arrive during their time off, it’s hard to fully relax. People remain in an alert state of “ambient anxiety,” wondering and worrying what might come next. It’s hard to enjoy the time away from work and the refreshment and enjoyment that a weekend can provide.
Even if your email isn’t urgent and doesn’t need an immediate response, the damage is still done. The message interrupts the recipient’s day, wherever they are and whatever they are doing.
They see the message, wonder (or panic over) what it’s about, and read it. Then they may feel compelled to consider right away what action needs to be done, information needs to be digested or provided, or perspective needs to be shared in a timely response.
That process takes both physical time out of the day and exacts an emotional toll on the employee.
In my experience, here’s what works better.
1️⃣ It’s okay if you choose to process email on the weekend. Just don’t apply your choice to employees’ personal time.
2️⃣ Set your email to send later. Think about the ideal time for the employee to receive it. Perhaps it will be an hour to two into the workday on Monday. Balance being timely with your message with consideration about when it will be received.
3️⃣ Have a conversation with employees about weekend emails. Share your philosophy and expectations. Ask for their feedback. Find a protocol that works for everyone.
One exception is a true emergency that happens on the weekend. As a leader in the corporate world, I generally did not email or text employees on the weekend for routine matters. Because of that, if an emergency arose on a weekend where I needed my team’s involvement, they were responsive and helpful.
A level of trust and respect built up between us. They didn’t need to wonder if my message was urgent and needed immediate attention. Because an emergency would be the only reason I’d email them on the weekend. And other than that, they knew they weren’t going to hear from me. Hopefully that created more space for enjoyable time off.
What’s YOUR weekend email protocol?
P.S. This also applies to late-night and middle-of-the-night emails. If it’s not an urgent message, set the email to send later, during the workday in the recipient’s time zone.
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