Late Night Emails - Signals Leaders Send

When leaders send out late night emails or Saturday evening/ Sunday evening emails what are they signalling?

They signal 24 hour work schedules. They signal their own diligence vs the tardiness of those who don't respond or follow the same schedule. They set a culture of invasiveness into personal space. They subvert the work-life balance that the organisation is aiming towards. Eventually the focus shifts to harder work and establishing the same rather than results and real productivity.

Leaders may say that they like to look at emails at the end of the day or over weekends but they do so without expectation of response and they do not judge employees. Even so the harm is done. Organisational culture is all about following the leader who is most often the role model of success. Also, there is a definite temptation to mirror the leader's behaviour and notch up brownie points.

What can leaders do? Learn to demarcate work and other aspects of life. Work is not the refuge which should fill every nook and cranny of available time. Time which is available probably because they do not value in equal measure their relationships, their physical well being, their leisure activity, their reading, their sleep etc. 

Everything is taken care of and it is important to clear the inbox? Well save the responses in draft and send at work or schedule delivery at the right time.

Let's build a culture of balance!