“The Art of Not Checking Emails at Night”

 

The Art of Not Checking Emails at night The concept presented is a pun but has a serious idea that is becoming a more important part of the HR practice namely the creation of healthy digital boundaries. In a world where hybrid work, phones and instant messaging are causing work and personal time to become one, not checking emails at night seems a small and yet mighty form of self-care. Limited after-hours communication, according to HR perspective, is favourable to work-life balance, cognitive load, and help employees to avoid burnout and this is an issue that has garnered extensive attention in organisational behaviour literature and occupational health literature (Cooper & Cartwright, 1994).

The context of the Sri Lankan private sector however gives a different picture when it comes to the analysis of this boundary setting practice. Various organisations particularly within the fields of IT, banking, and apparel work in highly dynamic and time-sensitive fields. The cultural imperative of being constantly available is usually coupled with the hierarchy of expectations wherein employees are bound to answer managers even after the working hours. The collectivist nature of the Sri Lanka culture also supports compliance and loyalty and employees would find it hard to establish personal boundaries without being labeled as uncommitted.

The situation is more complicated in the field of the apparel industry. Most factory floor employees have a regular shift, but executives, merchandisers, IE teams and HR staff are not required to attend to the same shifts regularly and are usually at the mercy of buyer requirements, last minute orders and short delivery times. This becomes a vicious circle of normalising the late-night emails as well as performance appraisal or career development based on responsiveness. Therefore, even fun HR campaigns that encourage boundary-setting can conflict with operational reality.

This is however in no way a reason to undermine the importance of healthy digital habits. Rather, it points to the necessity of organisational level responsibility. HR may be instrumental since it may establish email-response rules, promote no-email-after-7 PM regulations, and teach managers proper communication timing. The Sri Lankan firms like MAS, Brandix, and Omegaline already display concern about employee wellbeing, and thus, they are in a good position to pioneer such undertaking.

Even though the notion of not checking emails at night might appear to be as straightforward as it is a joke, it poses significant concerns regarding the workload and the work culture, as well as managerial expectations. The idea of sustainability in the Sri Lankan private and apparel industry does not merely involve disciplining the employees but involves the system, leaders setting an example of leadership as well as the cultural change towards appreciating the importance of rest as much as responsiveness.

References

Cooper, C.L. & Cartwright, S. (1994) ‘Healthy mind; healthy organization—A proactive approach to occupational stress’, Human Relations, 47(4), pp. 455–471.

Derks, D., van Duin, D., Tims, M. & Bakker, A.B. (2015) ‘Smartphone use and work–home interference: The moderating role of social norms and employee work engagement’, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(1), pp. 155–177.

Sarker, S., Xiao, X., Sarker, S. & Ahuja, M. (2012) ‘Managing employees’ use of mobile technologies to minimize work–life balance impacts’, MIS Quarterly Executive, 11(4), pp. 143–157.

Wickramasinghe, V. & Jayabandu, S. (2007) ‘Towards a model of HRM in the South Asian context: A study of Sri Lankan manufacturing firms’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(10), pp. 1807–1823.

Herath, T. (2015) ‘Employee welfare and work–life balance in the Sri Lankan private sector’, Sri Lanka Journal of Human Resource Management, 5(1), pp. 1–12.

Brandix Lanka Limited (2020) Employee Wellbeing and HR Initiatives. Colombo: Brandix Corporate Reports.

MAS Holdings (2021) Sustainable HR Practices and Employee Wellbeing. Colombo: MAS Holdings Annual Report.

Omegaline (2022) HR Policies and Employee Engagement Programs. Colombo: Omegaline Internal Report.