Checking your work email after you’ve gone home for the day may be hazardous to your health.
A new Gallup survey said workers who keep up with their jobs remotely outside of normal working hours experience significantly higher stress levels than those who disconnect when they get home.
Nearly half of workers who said they frequently email for work after hours reported experiencing stress “a lot” the previous day, compared with 36 percent of those who said they never check work emails after work.
Interestingly, workers who use mobile technology for work outside of normal business hours rate their lives better than those who disconnect when they get home. Gallup said 63 percent of users reported that their lives were “thriving,” compared with 54 percent of users who said they don’t remotely connect to work after business hours.
Perhaps this is a result of a false sense of accomplishment that comes with working remotely. Though people feel stressed by using mobile devices after work, they feel their lives are thriving because of the amount of work they are able to accomplish. In their minds, productivity outweighs the carefree lifestyle.
When I worked in an office that had regular business hours, I rarely checked my work email or did any other work from home. Many of my co-workers had their work emails sent to their cellphone so they could stay connected. I shunned that idea. After spending the bulk of the day at work, I figured that was enough, and my evenings were time for me and my family.
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