Trade-off of the day: Efficiency vs Stress

Two recent papers reached a similar conclusion: frequent e-mail exchanges improve organizational efficiency, but lead to more stress among employees.

The first study looked into the impact of interruptions caused by e-mails:

Our data suggests that people compensate for interruptions by working faster, but this comes at a price: experiencing more stress, higher frustration, time pressure and effort.

The second study investigated the relationship between e-mail and work performance:

...we obtained solid evidence that e-mail supports work performance, but at the same time contributes to negative effects [stress and distress - ES] that in the long run may affect motivation and satisfaction.

What do you think about the problem? Drop me an e-mail.

tags: trade-off, problem, information, dilemma, internet, control, 10x


Sources:


1. Gloria Mark, et all. The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress. CHI 2008, April 5–10, 2008, Florence, Italy.
2. E-mail characteristics, work performance and distress Rita S. Mano, Gustavo S. Mesch. Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010) 61–69. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.08.005.