#1 impact of email overload on psychological health in the workplace

Stress is a key issue in the workplace, bearing several negative outcomes, with Information Overload being a significant contributor. An unexpected research finding comes from a survey of U.K. employees where temporary employees report better well–being, general health, more positive attitude towards work and better work behaviour (e.g. less absenteeism) than their permanent counterparts.

Researchers link this to the finding that many permanent workers reported high levels of work overload, relatively high levels of irritation, anxiety and depression and a strong interference of work with life at home.

Another study shows that 35% of knowledge workers experience back pain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, eye strain, headaches and stress.

A large-scale survey of academic and administrative staff at an Australian university showed that staff who receive work email on their mobile devices report that, because colleagues know they are always accessible, this heightens the perceived pressure to respond quickly; staff consider it stressful to leave a message alone when the sender knows that it has been received.