E-mail backlash; what’s your take?

July 31st, 2008 at 08:08am Georgette Braun

Five years ago, I had my left ear pierced in a slightly different place than the original  hole, which had ripped and caused the earring in my left ear to hang lower than the one in my right ear. The culprit of the rip: the telephone, and years of the receiver pressed to my ear while taking notes over the phone for news stories.

E-mail has saved me from ripping my new hole, and I’m happy about that.

But e-mail is causing backlash. This LA Times story says that the need to attend to a constantly beeping in-box is creating anxiety in the workplace, adversely affecting the ability to focus, diminishing productivity and threatening family bonds.

Often, I find e-mail saves me time. I get written details about community events, so I don’t have to track down every fine point. And I write my bosses notes about what’s going on so they can catch up easily when they’re out of meetings. But I hate coming back to the office after a few days of vacation, only to have to clear hundreds of e-mails out of my box.

I try to manage the overload when I’m at my desk by immediately handling e-mails by killing them out, responding or making a note to myself to follow up.

What frustrates you about e-mail? Share your tips about how you handle e-mail.

Entry Filed under: e-mail