Email Free Fridays

Email has become a key part of our working lives, a key way we communictae with each other. But email can also lead to information overload, increased stress in the workplace and overall loss of productivity. (McShane, Travaglione, Communicating in Organisational Settings, 2003. www.cnn.com, www.internet-free-day.org, www.globalideasbank.org)

In an atempt to overcome this some companies are introducing "email free friday". The idea is, by banning emails one day a week, people are forced to use other means of communication. They are forced to pick up the phone, or go and see someone, rather than sending an email.

http://www.globalideasbank.org reports "An e-mail ban begins to build a culture of designing and delivering ideas togetherNestlé Rowntree was the first company in the UK to introduce such a policy, after management were informed that employees were spending more time typing than talking to each other; they also found examples of people sending e-mails to colleagues who were just a small distance across from them, rather than actually speaking to them directly. As Andrew Harrison, marketing director at the company, points out, “A no-email Friday removes needless information flow across the organisation and it forces people to talk face-to-face and agree plans mutually. An e-mail ban begins to build a culture of designing and delivering ideas together”

"More recently, Camelot (who run the National Lottery) and the BBC have also experimented with the concept. The Friday ban also reduces the pressure on employees to spend time responding to everything that flows in to their inbox, and can enable them to escape the pressures of what work analysts have identified as ‘information overload’ associated with many e-mails. "

Not Friday and writing an email? 43folders.com has some good tips on how to make your emails easy to deal with and get results. Have a look at:
http://www.43folders.com/2005/09/19/writing-sensible-email-messages/