To have found that checking my work emails in the evenings/weekends has actually been good for my mental health

[octoberblue]

I put my work email and Microsoft Teams on my phone around a month ago as I was having issues with my laptop and needed to speak to colleagues urgently. Ever since then I've left them on there and I've found that it has really helped with my mental health, even though it goes against the general advice for having a good work/life balance.

It's stopped that morning dread of opening my laptop on Monday morning at 9am, unsure of what's come in over the weekend. Like I checked my work emails quickly last night and saw a piece of work has come in for me that we were waiting for, now I know that the bulk of my Monday will be spent working on that, it helps me mentally prepare for the day/week ahead and stop worrying about things.

Does anyone else find the same? Or do you find checking your work emails/Teams messages in the evenings/weekends affects you in a negative way?

If it works for you and takes the load off go for it. But if you are missing out on time with your family or doing stuff you like then it's a mistake imo. At work you are 100% replaceable, you aren't to your family.

Yes I agree. I have teams / email on my phone and I give it a quick check in the evening and weekend. I work in a global Team so emails from US arrive in the evening and APAC early in the morning. A quick check let's me know what I'm dealing with before work and stops the dread . Not for everyone but I find it works for me.

Yes I like to check them too, and quickly delete and file anything that's not needed to be actioned.

Very much not in favour of the idea I hear quite a lot that people should put a timer on their emails so they don't arrive until 9am Monday. I have no wish for a big dump of emails at the start of the week, especially as I tend to start before 9am.

I get the dread of the emails at the start of the day / week - but it's very hard not to have the quick check of emails on your phone become insidious, and end up as a 'creep' task.

You read the email in your own time, disengage from your personal life (even momentarily), and very often you'll then take action, reply, think about the task.

I think if you do it in a disciplined, bounded way eg setting some time aside & then that's it, that can work. But checking constantly or having notifications on so you see every email as it comes in, is not a good idea. Additionally, you lose track of time spent on work tasks, vs your personal time

Regarding time-delaying emails as mentioned by a PP, I think this is fine as long as done sensibly. So for example sending 1 person many time-delayed emails to arrive at the one time is unfair, as suggested. But it is good practice to time delay emails for attention during the usual working day - that's what it's for. Sending people emails at the weekend can inadvertently set up the expectation of a reply or action

I've found the same. I check my emails while I'm not at work. Sometimes I'll clear through and delete anything I don't need if I've got nothing better to do. Generally I don't reply to anything though unless it's fully for my own personal benefit though so no one has an expectation (like Karo isn't back until Thursday but I'm sure she'll pick it up before then etc). It definitely takes the dread away for me and I feel less stressed when I go back in each week.

Same here. Friday night and Sunday night. Work have a nasty habit of sending bad news emails at the end of the week, so finding out about them before Monday gives me time to climb down off my anger pony and get my cool head in place. It is horrible to discover things on a Monday morning.

But that's it. My only out of hours checking-in are on Friday and Sunday evenings.

You are trearing the symptom not the problem!

The problem is that work is encroaching into your thoughts and disrupting what should be your personal and rest time.

I agree OP - even more so when you come back from holiday, and the “back to work” gloom is ramped up.

I’d much rather check my email on a Sunday night (usually with a glass of wine in my hand) and then know what I have to deal with, than wait and get that awful anticipation starting up the laptop on Monday morning

I agree. I don't do any actual work, but I like to know what there is.

This is my personality generally in the rest of life - I like to know what's happening, what the plan is etc. I don't care what the plan is, I just like to have a general idea of what is going on.

It depends what type of job you do. It would be OK in my current job. In my old job I regularly had members of the public phoning me up or emailing me to call me all manner of unpleasantness on a weekend. Because I dared to not be available at 3am on a Sunday when they were drunk and wanted to phone me. (I did not work a 24 hour service!). I hated coming into that on a morning as it was. The last thing I'd want is to listening to some drunk calling me a twat and cunt at home on Sunday night.

Exactly. I don’t think about my job at all over the weekend because they don’t pay me to. My job starts at 9am when I open my laptop. The fact that you are alleviating Monday morning anxiety with a Sunday night shot in the arm is poor work/life balance. You may as well be checking them 24/7. Do they pay you for that? No. You would be better off working on your general anxiety.

1. you need to make sure you are nor creating or perpetuating an ‘always-on’ culture
2. its all well and good if your emails are routine but if you get a shitty email, this is going to make you feel shitty during your spare time esp because you can’t resolve the issue until Monday / the next day

(I check work emails outside working hours BTW)

Same here, get loads of emails overnight and early morning. It just helps to quickly winnow through them, delete or forward as needed then I only have the ones I need to deal with when I actually start work.

I do and it helps me - but my boundary is I check the emails to know what I’ve got to deal with the next day, and I don’t get sucked into starting working on it there and then.

If you have things come in every weekend why not just put monday mornings aside each week to sort them out then you won't have to look at the emails as you've already planned for this. And if nothing comes in, then that's a bonus.

It’s a slippery slope. Are you going to check them on holiday to avoid the dread of coming back?

What if you get an email about something stressful? Then it will be taking up space in your head.

I would urge you to try not to see this as a solution.

I’ve stopped doing this

as I need to time when i am not thinking about work, it’s very difficult and there are times when I do check in but it’s better to separate my work and home life (and this is how it should be)

I think this depends on your personality type. My husband does as you say to be prepared; I would find it hard to not worry about things I cannot yet deal with so try to avoid this.

I agree it's a personal thing. My DH does this and prefers it, whereas I like to switch off completely.

I do this, I like to know what’s waiting and I can get rid of any random things I don’t need so I come into a fresh inbox on a Monday morning ready to crack on. I don’t check if I am on any sort extended leave because I just find myself worrying about things then.

I don’t tend to get many new emails over the weekend when everyone is off, but I do like to check my emails on days off/on holiday so I can forward things to other people with short instructions if I can, to take the pressure off.

I get the dread of the emails at the start of the day / week - but it's very hard not to have the quick check of emails on your phone become insidious, and end up as a 'creep' task.

Exactly. You've been doing this for a month. Come back in a year or two and tell us how great it is then.

I always check my emails on days off, I think I’ve got a good work/life balance. Just helps me not have to sift through them all when I come back in!

I agree. But sometimes I read and then forget to act on them. That's the only down side.

Surely most conscientious and professional adults will think about work outside of work hours!