Protecting Company Culture Means Having Rules for Email

Dealing with after-hours emails produces anxiety that is damaging not only to the worker, but to their family. Managing this anxiety isn’t only about staying on top of email — it’s about managing expectations. In the absence of clear intentions, employees will make assumptions about what their bosses expect. You can make your expectations clear — doing everyone a favor — by being explicit. Say something like, “We believe that downtime is important, and we expect you to disconnect from work email on evenings, weekends, and vacations. If something important comes up, we’ll communicate via phone or text.”