An Italian company has set out on a week-long experiment to see how stress levels are affected in the workplace, when internal emailing is stopped.
One of the major causes of keywordstress in modern life is being always in contact and online through persistent connectivity that mobile phones give us, and the internal correspondence that can stack up, demanding replies.
Gabel, a home textiles company, based in the region of Como in the north of Italy, commissioned for expert interviews to be taken place with its employees. The aim of the interview was to find out what stresses the workers out most, and the answer came back that it was the internal correspondence.
So, consequently, the company sent round a memo inviting workers to an email-free week.
“We invite you not to use email for internal communications (between colleagues at the same location) in favour of a more direct and immediate contact,” said the memo (which rather ironically was reported to be in email form).
The employees have apparently found it difficult to stop using such an ingrained form of communication, but they have enjoyed the challenge.
Emails, while convenient, and give a person an easy method of reviewing what has been said, can take all the personal aspects out of communication.
The backlogs and the pressure to keep up with email correspondence can take both a long a time during the work day, and also a toll on a person’s mental health from the constant abrasive pressures.
It is good that a company has tried such a novel and experimental method to try and reduce stress, and to promote this move throughout its employees.
Hopefully, the effects will last longer than the set week, and colleagues will be more likely to find each other and have a chat about any issues or topics in the future.
