The rising number of emails, messages and video meetings while remote working is leading to a growing level of employee burnout and job dissatisfaction, according to new research by email app Superhuman.
Keeping up with work communications such as emails and video calls on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, was identified as the biggest distraction from work by 30% of respondents.
Nearly a third (31%) said they wanted a break from responding to emails and 25% said they crave a notification-free day.
Superhuman's head of people Kristen Hayward, told HR magazine the research highlighted the challenges remote work poses and that a year of constant chats, emails and video calls has taken its toll.
She said: “As we look towards increasingly remote and hybrid team models, it will be important for HR and people teams not to assume the same policies that worked in-office will translate seamlessly to remote work.
“Proactively setting norms around expected response times and building in work-life management training to employee onboarding and ongoing professional development can help prevent burnout and increase retention amongst remote teams."
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The research also found more than one-third (38%) of office workers said email fatigue is likely to push them to quit their jobs.
Half (51%) of remote workers reportedly spent their own money on tools to help manage their productivity, and another 17% said they plan to do so in the future.
Rahul Vohra, founder and CEO of Superhuman, said the shift to remote work and digital communications has made employees fatigued and burnt out.
He said: “Employers must urgently adopt tools and policies that will make employees happy and productive, regardless of where they work.”
Superhuman surveyed 1,000 working people in March 2021.
