For years, doctors and counselors have warned that people who can鈥檛 quite disconnect from work when they鈥檙e off the clock are at risk of long-term fatigue. The compulsion to respond to emails and other communication after work hours has been dubbed 鈥渢elepressure鈥 by a recent study published in the that found the practice can make you less healthy and less productive.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e cognitively ruminating over these things in the evening and reexposing yourself to workplace stressors,鈥 Larissa Barber, assistant professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University and a co-author of the study, . 鈥淚t鈥檚 like your to-do list is piling up.鈥
The study found that increased telepressure was associated with burnout鈥攂oth physical and cognitive鈥攑oor sleep, and more sick days. The researchers say that telepressure is more of a workplace phenomenon than a personal one鈥攖hat is, it has less to do with your personality than it does your office dynamics.
鈥溾楢s soon as possible鈥 means different things to different people, but of course if you鈥檙e nervous about impressing your boss or co-workers, you probably think it needs to be immediately,鈥 Barber told Time.
Moreover, it can feel really good to telepressure others by, for example, sending an email or text message with the expectation of a quick reply. To abate this, Barber recommends adding a line or two (such as 鈥淣o need to respond to this message,鈥 or 鈥淚 look forward to hearing from you tomorrow鈥) to signal that an immediate response isn鈥檛 necessary.
Of course, thinking about disconnecting is easier than doing it. In his recent feature for 国产吃瓜黑料, 鈥Reboot or Die Trying,鈥 star political blogger David Roberts chronicles his yearlong effort to regain balance in his life after suffering from acute digital overload.