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Posted: 5 Dec 2008
HOW fast you reply to an email could reveal whether you are stressed, driven or relaxed.
The familiar "ding" of an email landing in a colleague's inbox has become as common a sound in offices today as the ring of the telephone.
But, according to researchers, the speed at which workers respond to a new message provides a fascinating insight into their character.
In a recent survey, experts discovered that email users fall into three categories: relaxed, driven and stressed.
Dr Karen Renaud, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow, who carried out the research, said that while some people were happy to respond to emails in their own time, others felt compelled into reacting as soon as they arrived and became stressed if they had too many to deal with or were delayed in responding.
Women, in particular, felt more pressure to respond quickly to a new email than men, she said.
"The relaxed group don't let email exert any pressure on their lives," she said.
"They treat it exactly the way that one would treat the mail: 'I'll fetch it, I'll deal with it in my own time.'
"The second group felt driven to keep on top of email, but also felt that they could cope with it. The third group, however, reacted negatively to the pressure of email."
Researchers found 34 per cent of workers, who fell into the "stressed" category, felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of emails they received each day and obliged to respond quickly to meet the expectation of the sender.
A further 28 per cent were "driven" email users because they saw them as a source of pressure, while around 38 per cent were "relaxed" because they felt comfortable not replying until up to a week later.
Most agents will return emails the same business day or within 24 hours. You need to be aware that research conducted on buyers and sellers indicates that they would expect you to return emails with 4 hours of them being sent to you. Check what your office policy or standard procedure is and see if you are measuring up to customer expectations.
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