• by Jess Nelson , January 12, 2017

A new law in France establishes a worker’s right to disconnect from their email, but would a curfew be the best way to mitigate email stress?

The law, which went into effect in France at the beginning of the year, requires companies with 50 or more employees to negotiate with their staff on ways to mitigate the intrusion of business into personal lives, such as setting specific hours when employees should not sent or respond to work communication.

If the negotiations do not result in an agreement, the company must publish a public charter with detailed instructions on the rights of employees outside of office hours. The law does not sanction companies who fail to fulfill their legal obligation in any way, however.

A recent study by OPP Ltd., a business psychology consultancy, suggests that a majority of workers are stressed out by email and that their personality type likely influences how email stresses them out. Although 84% of respondents in the study asserted they could not complete their job without email, OPP found distinguishing characteristics in how different personality types feel about email. 

OPP is a part of CPP, a company that administers the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) test for professional development. MBTI is a psychological questionnaire measuring how someone sees the world and makes decisions. It identifies individuals as one of 16 possible personality types, each one with four identifiable characteristics expressed through a code of four letters.

According to the MBTI test, someone is either an extravert (E) or introvert (I), they process information by sensing (S) or intuition (N), they make decisions by thinking (T) or feeling (F), and they structure how they engage with the outside world by judging (J) or perceiving (P).

OPP polled 368 people who had already taken an MBTI test on how the interact with email, and presented the results last week at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology’s annual conference in Liverpool. The results suggest a correlation between email and anxiety that is heightened outside of working hours.

Receiving too many emails, unnecessary emails or junk were all labeled as negative aspects of email by respondents. Managers were the most likely to find email stressful, regardless of personality types, and OPP recommended a general set of guidelines to ease anxiety across all personality types.

The tips on mitigating email anxiety include, sending fewer emails, responding quickly, being clear and concise with communication, taking care to avoid long email chains and Ccing unnecessary people, being polite and only emailing during work hours.

In addition, OPP detailed tips on how to email different personality types effectively. Understanding how personality influence stress is not just important for the marketers seeking to mitigate email fatigue, but for anyone who communicates with colleagues, clients, friends or family through the pervasive platform. 

An email to an ESTP or ESFP should be short and responses prompt, as ideally face-to-face communication works the best for these personality types. ENTP and ENFP personalities also appreciate face-to-face communication, so consider if you really need to send an email and make it clear if you expect a fast response.

Avoid sending ISTJ or ISFK personality types too much email at once, as they are likely to be overwhelmed by email volume. A follow-up email might be appropriate after a delay in response if the recipient is stressed by email overload. Emails to ESTJ and ENTJ personalities should be clear and with concise identifiable subject lines.

ISTP and INTP personalities take the great care in crafting their emails, so OPP recommends that any email sent to them be to-the-point and clear. Highlight if you expect a fast response from them. INTJ and INFJ personalities also take great care in constructing their emails and will likely take time to respond to email inquiries, even though they themselves expect quick email replies.

ISFP and INFP personalities appreciate pleasantries and email etiquette, so difficult messages should be delivered with care and requests should be made politely. An ESFJ or ENFP also embrace pleasantries and are more likely to appreciate an emoticon in an email.  If you receive an email from an ESFJ or ENFJ, a quick response or acknowledgement is appreciated.