The Workday Reading: March 18, 2015
Mar 18, 2015
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1) Do you send late-night e-mails to your team? Why you might be hurting morale and productivity. I also enjoyed last month’s BBC piece on why e-mail is a broken medium, and how we can fix it.
2) I usually don’t like drawstring details on bags, but this affordable Moda Luxe tote from Target is gorgeous. I love the bold, lipstick-red shade.
3) Salon discusses political scandal and why the “media echo chamber” is crippling American politics and has been for decades.
4) Bailey 44 is a great brand for the woman who likes chic, jersey pieces. This grey “mummy ruched” dress is lovely. I also like this wrap-effect dress in bright red. And if you’re looking for a stylish, casual weekend piece, this Matriculation top should suit.
5) The Atlantic has a lengthy piece about the ethics and cultural implications of crowd-funding your hospital bills.
6) These Seychelles ‘Would I Lie’ open-toe flats are adorable. The bronze color would look lovely with summer dresses and skirts.
7) A college student used mathematical algorithms to create the “optimal road trip across the U.S.” visiting all 48 continental states and hitting many major landmarks. Who’s ready to hit the road?
*image found here.
Regarding #1: I have been scolded–repeatedly!–for not cc’ing my entire team on *every single email* related to a project, regardless of how minuscule the issue or if only one person on the team would know the answer. (What happens when you receive hundreds of emails a day? The important ones gets missed, and I end up having to recirculate documents so they’re at the top of the inbox pile.) My boss has likewise made comments when I’m slightly “behind” in my emails. And this, despite so many sources (like the BBC article) discussing *limiting* use of email distribution lists, advising us to not check our email every time a message is received, etc. Demanding to see and receive hundreds of useless emails a day is, to me, nonsensical.
Oh, I had an old boss who yelled about this too. It was because the people I was leaving off felt left out, like I was purposefully excluding them. So ridiculous. I’m here to do my job, not stroke your ego, if your input or knowledge isn’t essential to the subject of the email why should I clutter your inbox and invite another voice into an already packed conversation?
I found it was usually the more paranoid who demanded to be on EVERY. SINGLE. EMAIL. It was as if, my not including them on an email meant I was deliberately hiding something from them. It’s the height of micromanaging.
Re: #1– YES. In Silicon Valley, being always on is normal and working 24/7 is widely considered a badge of honor. I feel it’s just unproductive and encourages poor planning.
Crystal, your boss’ directive is a serious pet peeve (along with “reply all” which most of the time should require a waiting period, breathalyzer and password), my condolences.
Highly recommend Steve Robbins’ podcast and book. He actually recommends deleting your *entire* inbox then going to trash and pulling out what you really need. I’ve not achieved empty inbox nirvana, but he makes a good argument and has some good tips.
https://www.amazon.com/Get—Done-Steps-Quick-Dirty/dp/0312662610/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426706066&sr=8-3&keywords=steve+robbins
I just don’t check my email once I leave the office. They had 9 hours to get my attention and they didn’t take advantage of it.
What kind of reply could I give from my living room anyway? I don’t have my files, I don’t have my notes, I don’t have my research, I’ve probably had a glass of wine – there’s no point. Emails that I receive at night are prioritized the next morning. Call me old fashioned.
My beef with #1 is that I am one of those work-at-home moms whose days are split up. My work day is usually 8am to 12pm, then 8pm to 11pm. It is inevitable that I’ll send email to team members I supervise late at night. Now, my own policy is to not send email requiring a quick response after 5pm – but that’s often interpreted differently by who is reading it.
I write emails at night and on the weekends, but schedule them all to go out at 9am the next business day because I don’t want to reward or mirror bad behavior. I receive enormous gratification sending out 10-12 emails in the first minutes of the business day. This is probably not a solution to anything, but it works for me.