E-mail load, workload stress and desired e-mail load: a cybernetic approach

PurposeUsing e-mail is a time-consuming activity that can increase workload stress. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the individual’s e-mail load, workload stress and desired e-mail load, drawing from the cybernetic theory of stress.Design/methodology/approachBased on prior theory, the authors first hypothesized relationships among e-mail load, workplace stress and desired e-mail load. The authors then tested these relationships on a sample of 504 full-time workers in the USA, using survey data and covariance-based structural equation modeling techniques.FindingsThe authors find that higher e-mail load is associated with higher workload stress; higher workload stress is associated with lower desired e-mail load; lower desired e-mail load is associated with lower e-mail load; and higher workload stress is associated with higher psychological strain, higher negative emotions and lower organizational commitment.Originality/valueThe study provides a novel understanding of workload stress due to e-mail load, through the lens of cybernetic theory. It contributes to the e-mail overload and technostress literatures by conceptualizing desired e-mail load as a potential outcome of workplace stress and as a regulator for e-mail load. For practitioners, the study highlights the importance of managing employees’ e-mail load to prevent the negative effects of workplace stress and associated strains.

[1]  Terrence D. Jorgensen,et al.  Useful Tools for Structural Equation Modeling [R package semTools version 0.5-3] , 2020 .

[2]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  The technostress trifecta ‐ techno eustress, techno distress and design: Theoretical directions and an agenda for research , 2019, Inf. Syst. J..

[3]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  Electronic communication in the workplace: boon or bane? , 2018 .

[4]  C. Cooper,et al.  The Handbook of Stress and Health: A Guide to Research and Practice , 2017 .

[5]  C. Maslach,et al.  Understanding Burnout: New Models , 2017 .

[6]  Eurofound.  Working Anytime, Anywhere: The Effects on the World of Work , 2017 .

[7]  Akane Sano,et al.  Email Duration, Batching and Self-interruption: Patterns of Email Use on Productivity and Stress , 2016, CHI.

[8]  Kevin Carillo,et al.  Email-free collaboration: An exploratory study on the formation of new work habits among knowledge workers , 2016, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[9]  Yoram M. Kalman,et al.  Filing, piling, and everything in between: The dynamics of E‐mail inbox management , 2015, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[10]  Yves Rosseel,et al.  Useful Tools for Structural Equation Modeling , 2015 .

[11]  Alecia M. Santuzzi,et al.  Please respond ASAP: workplace telepressure and employee recovery. , 2015, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[12]  Daantje Derks,et al.  Smartphone use and work-home interference: The moderating role of social norms and employee work engagement , 2015 .

[13]  Markus Hummel,et al.  A Capacity Perspective on E-mail Overload: How E-mail Use Contributes to Information Overload , 2015, 2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[14]  Nerina L. Jimmieson,et al.  E-mail in the workplace : the role of stress appraisals and normative response pressure in the relationship between email stressors and employee strain , 2014 .

[15]  Gheordunescu Maria-Elena,et al.  STRESS IN ORGANIZATIONS , 2014 .

[16]  Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,et al.  When email use gets out of control: Understanding the relationship between personality and email overload and their impact on burnout and work engagement , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[17]  James H. Long,et al.  Online Instrument Delivery and Participant Recruitment Services: Emerging Opportunities for Behavioral Accounting Research , 2014 .

[18]  Sally K. Widener,et al.  Managerial Influence in Performance Measurement System Design: A Recipe for Failure? , 2014 .

[19]  Kaspar Villadsen,et al.  Corporate Smart Phones: Professionals' Conscious Engagement in Escalating Work Connectivity , 2014 .

[20]  Matthew K. O. Lee,et al.  A conceptual model of technology features and technostress in telemedicine communication , 2013, Inf. Technol. People.

[21]  Thomas W. Jackson,et al.  Theory-based model of factors affecting information overload , 2012, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[22]  Laura A. Hambley,et al.  Perceived information and communication technology (ICT) demands on employee outcomes: the moderating effect of organizational ICT support. , 2012, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[23]  Yves Rosseel,et al.  lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling , 2012 .

[24]  Achim Zeileis,et al.  Extended Beta Regression in R: Shaken, Stirred, Mixed, and Partitioned , 2012 .

[25]  Gloria Mark,et al.  "A pace not dictated by electrons": an empirical study of work without email , 2012, CHI.

[26]  Gillian Ragsdell,et al.  The impact of e-mail on work-life balance , 2012, Aslib Proc..

[27]  Udechukwu Ojiako,et al.  Email overload: Exploring the moderating role of the perception of email as a 'business critical' tool , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[28]  C. Cooper,et al.  A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool , 2011 .

[29]  J. Wajcman,et al.  Constant Connectivity: Rethinking Interruptions at Work , 2011 .

[30]  Stephen R. Barley,et al.  E-mail as a Source and Symbol of Stress , 2011, Organ. Sci..

[31]  Sharon F. Matusik,et al.  Embracing or embattled by converged mobile devices? Users’ experiences with a contemporary connectivity technology , 2011 .

[32]  P. Powell,et al.  Understanding e‐mail overload , 2011 .

[33]  Klaus Moser,et al.  Coping with information overload in email communication: Evaluation of a training intervention , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[34]  Pamela J. Wisniewski,et al.  When more is too much: Operationalizing technology overload and exploring its impact on knowledge worker productivity , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[35]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Email overload at work: an analysis of factors associated with email strain , 2006, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[36]  Gustavo S. Mesch,et al.  E-mail characteristics, work performance and distress , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[37]  Yajiong Xue,et al.  Avoidance of Information Technology Threats: A Theoretical Perspective , 2009, MIS Q..

[38]  Sheena Johnson.  Organizational Screening: The ASSET Model , 2008 .

[39]  Y. Altman,et al.  E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication technologies for health, wellbeing and productivity at work , 2008 .

[40]  Kris Byron.  Carrying too Heavy a Load? The Communication and Miscommunication of Emotion by Email , 2008 .

[41]  Ramesh Sharda,et al.  SIMONE: A Simulator for Interruptions and Message Overload in Network Environments , 2008, Int. J. Simul. Process. Model..

[42]  Karen Renaud,et al.  The influence of self-esteem and locus of control on perceived email-related stress , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[43]  Monideepa Tarafdar,et al.  The Impact of Technostress on Role Stress and Productivity , 2007, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[44]  Owen Hargie,et al.  Workplace interactions and the polymorphic role of e‐mail , 2007 .

[45]  Glenn J. Browne,et al.  Cognitive Stopping Rules for Terminating Information Search in Online Tasks , 2007, MIS Q..

[46]  Karen Renaud,et al.  "You've Got E-Mail!" ... Shall I Deal With It Now? Electronic Mail From the Recipient's Perspective , 2006, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[47]  C. Carver.  Approach, Avoidance, and the Self-Regulation of Affect and Action , 2006 .

[48]  Steve Miller,et al.  Reconceptualizing E-Mail Overload , 2006 .

[49]  Thomas W. Jackson,et al.  A simple approach to improving email communication , 2006, Commun. ACM.

[50]  Danyel Fisher,et al.  A Scale for Measuring Email Overload , 2006 .

[51]  C. Erik Timmerman,et al.  Relating Computer, Communication, and Computer-Mediated Communication Apprehensions to New Communication Technology Use in the Workplace , 2005, Commun. Res..

[52]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  Work environments, stress and productivity: An examination using ASSET , 2005 .

[53]  Thomas W. Jackson,et al.  Email training significantly reduces email defects , 2005, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[54]  Paul Hildreth,et al.  The Role of Contextual Clues in the Creation of Information Overload , 2005 .

[55]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool (ASSET) , 2004 .

[56]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[57]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  The construct validity of the ASSET stress measure , 2003 .

[58]  Jenni Ingham,et al.  E-mail overload in the UK workplace , 2003, Aslib Proc..

[59]  C. Cooper,et al.  Organizational Stress: A Review and Critique of Theory, Research, and Applications , 2001 .

[60]  Wynne W. Chin,et al.  Research Report: Better Theory Through Measurement-Developing a Scale to Capture Consensus on Appropriation , 2002, Inf. Syst. Res..

[61]  Thomas Jackson,et al.  The cost of email interruption , 2001, Journal of Systems and Information Technology.

[62]  L. Atkinson.  You've Got Mail , 2001, Science.

[63]  Paul T. Barrett,et al.  A psychometric evaluation of the Occupational Stress Indicator , 2000 .

[64]  Paul E. Spector,et al.  Why negative affectivity should not be controlled in job stress research: don't throw out the baby with the bath water , 2000, Journal of Organizational Behavior.

[65]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[66]  T. A. Wright,et al.  Organizational behavior ‘rediscovers’ the role of emotional well‐being , 1998 .

[67]  Wynne W. Chin.  The partial least squares approach for structural equation modeling. , 1998 .

[68]  Y. Fried,et al.  The effects of hours of work on health: A meta-analytic review. , 1997 .

[69]  Candace L. Sidner,et al.  Email overload: exploring personal information management of email , 1996, CHI.

[70]  M. Markus.  Electronic Mail as the Medium of Managerial Choice , 1994 .

[71]  David Watson,et al.  The PANAS-X manual for the positive and negative affect schedule , 1994 .

[72]  J. Edwards.  A Cybernetic Theory of Stress, Coping, and Well-Being in Organizations , 1992 .

[73]  Richard S. Lazarus,et al.  Theory-Based Stress Measurement , 1990 .

[74]  D. McFarlin,et al.  Chronic occupational stressors, self-focused attention, and well-being: testing a cybernetic model of stress. , 1989, The Journal of applied psychology.

[75]  Michael P. Leiter,et al.  The impact of interpersonal environment on burnout and organizational commitment , 1988 .

[76]  Starr Roxanne Hiltz,et al.  Structuring computer-mediated communication systems to avoid information overload , 1985, CACM.

[77]  C. Carver,et al.  Control theory: a useful conceptual framework for personality-social, clinical, and health psychology. , 1982, Psychological bulletin.

[78]  C. Fornell,et al.  Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error: Algebra and Statistics , 1981 .

[79]  David F. Larcker,et al.  Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error: Algebra and Statistics: , 1981 .

[80]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[81]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  A Cybernetic Framework for Studying Occupational Stress , 1979 .