I posted on No Email Fridays back in March of this year. Well, now it appears a revolt has occurred at that company. According to CareerJournal.com’s Employers Try ‘No Email’ Days, But Workers Are Fighting Back:
When U.S. Cellular’s chief operating officer, Jay Ellison, imposed a “no email Friday” rule at his company, he thought it would ease workers’ overload.
Instead, he got a rebellion. Among many irate responses, Kathy Volpi, a marketing director, confronted Mr. Ellison and “just ripped me,” he says. “She really gave me a piece of her mind.”
This borders on hyperbole:
But withdraw it even for a day, and some employees fight back like recovering smokers in a nicotine fit.
and this:
Psychologist Ken Siegel classifies the email habit as “a dependency.” Cut off from their habit, employees at first may become hostile and critical, says Dr. Siegel, president of Impact Group, Los Angeles management consultants.
To me this all seems like a fix for something that isn’t broken. Productivity is at a premium today and email is a valuable tool so limiting it is bound to have repercussions.