KATHRYN PATEL CAPSTONE SPRING 2015 FINAL

Running head: EMAIL NORMS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

Constant Connectivity as a Cause of Stress: The Implications of Email Norms for Employees and Organizations

Capstone Paper Submitted for the Master of Professional Studies Degree in

Human Resources Management

Georgetown University

By

Kathryn Patel

Spring 2015

Master of Professional Studies in Human Resources Management

Capstone Authenticity Statement

Name: Kathryn Patel

Word count: 19,841

I confirm that:

Please check

statement

I have read the University’s rules relating to plagiarism as found on the Georgetown University website.

I am aware of the University’s disciplinary regulations concerning conduct in examinations pertaining to submission of assignments and, in particular, of the regulations on plagiarism.

I have read and am aware of and understand the Georgetown University honor code.

The Capstone paper I am submitting is entirely my own work except where otherwise indicated.

It has not been submitted, either wholly or substantially, for another course of this Department or University, or for a course at any other institution.

I have clearly signalled the presence of quoted or paraphrased material and referenced all sources.

I have acknowledged appropriately any assistance I have received in addition to that provided by my advisor.

I have not sought assistance from any professional agency.

Signed:

Date: April 21, 2015

EMAIL NORMS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

Acknowledgements

The submission of this Capstone was made possible because of the support of Emily

Winick and Professor Cumberlander. It is also important to acknowledge the editing skills of

Elizabeth Ellison. Finally, I would like to thank my husband Gautam Patel for all of his

encouragement throughout my time at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies.

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Constant Connectivity as a Cause of Stress: The Implications of Email Norms for

Employees and Organizations

Kathryn Patel

Master of Professional Studies in Human Resources Management

Spring 2015

Abstract

Email serves as a primary means of communication within the business world. Email offers the

ability for users to connect with each other at any time and in any location. Although the

benefits of email communication are plentiful, there are also several disadvantages. Specifically,

excessive use of email is linked to stress. Stress is correlated with poor health outcomes at an

individual level, which can lead to reduced productivity at an organizational level. This

Capstone posits that organizational norms are the genesis of email-related stress and its

associated outcomes and seeks to elucidate what actions the field of Human Resources can take

in order to mitigate the stress-related outcomes of constant email activity. Further, this Capstone

takes a thematic approach to understanding the relationship between organizational norms,

constant email connectivity, stress, health, and productivity. Finally, this Capstone intends to

provide actionable recommendations that are geared toward Human Resources professionals who

seek to alleviate email-related stress in employee populations. Specifically, the use of normative

re-educative strategy is recommended in order to facilitate a shift in email behavior within

employee populations.

Keywords: organizational norms, email, stress, health, productivity, constant

connectivity, normative re-educative strategy

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Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………….………………………………………………….1

Scope............................................................................................................................................. 3

Aims.............................................................................................................................................. 4

Objectives...................................................................................................................................... 5

Justification....................................................................................................................................5

Limitations.....................................................................................................................................6

Literature Review..........................................................................................................................6

An Overview of Email Stress and Associated Outcomes...........................................................7

The Theoretical Foundations of Technology’s Relationship to Stress......................................10

The Role of Organizational Norms in Constant Connectivity..................................................12

The Gap Between the Problem of Constant Connectivity and HR...........................................14

Literature Review Conclusion..................................................................................................15

Methodology................................................................................................................................16

Results......................................................................................................................................... 17

Chapter One: Email Norms Impact Employees and Organizations..............................................21

The Origins of Email................................................................................................................... 22

Email in the Business Community...............................................................................................22

Increased Accessibility in the Era of Mobile Devices..................................................................23

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Constant Connectivity..................................................................................................................24

Incongruent Findings Around How Constant Connectivity Impacts Employees.........................25

Understanding What Drives Constant Connectivity....................................................................26

How Email Norms Inform Email Practices..................................................................................28

Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication........................................................................30

How Email Practices Can Lead to Stress.....................................................................................31

Work-Related Stress....................................................................................................................32

Health Outcomes of Stress...........................................................................................................33

Productivity Implications of Stress..............................................................................................34

Chapter One Conclusion..............................................................................................................35

Chapter Two: Theoretical Underpinnings of Norms, Constant Connectivity, and Stress.............36

Why Employees Adopt Behaviors...............................................................................................37

Telepressure.................................................................................................................................39

Cycle of Responsiveness............................................................................................................. 39

Technostress................................................................................................................................ 41

Techno-Overload..................................................................................................................... 43

Techno-Invasion.......................................................................................................................44

The Effort Recovery Model.........................................................................................................45

Chapter Two Conclusion.............................................................................................................47

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Chapter Three: Shifting Email Norms to Mitigate Stress and its Associated Outcomes..............49

Volkswagen’s Approach to Addressing Constant Connectivity...................................................50

Boston Consulting Group’s Approach to Addressing Constant Connectivity..............................50

Arguments Against PTO Practices..............................................................................................54

Adopting the BCG Approach.......................................................................................................55

Normative Re-Educative strategy................................................................................................56

Chapter Three Conclusion...........................................................................................................59

Recommendations........................................................................................................................60

Diagnosing Readiness and Necessity of Change......................................................................60

Normative Re-Educative Strategy Coupled with PTO Practices..............................................61

Build Alliances to Support the Shift in Normative Email Behavior.........................................64

Cost Implications.........................................................................................................................65

Capstone Conclusion................................................................................................................... 66

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List of Acronyms

APA – American Psychological Association

ARPANET – Advanced Research Project Agency Network

BCG – Boston Consulting Group

HR – Human Resources

ICT – Information and Communication Technology

NIOSH - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

PTO – Predictable Time Off

SHRM – Society for Human Resource Management

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Research Overview

Research Problem: Organizational norms that encourage constant email connectivity can create

stress for employees, resulting in poor health outcomes at an individual level and reduced

productivity at an organizational level.

Research Question: How can the field of HR mitigate the stress-related outcomes of constant

email connectivity in employee populations?

Thesis Statement: In partnership with employees and leadership teams, the field of HR can

mitigate the stress-related outcomes of constant email connectivity through the crafting of

healthy norms around email behavior.

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Constant Connectivity as a Cause of Stress: The Implications of Email Norms for

Employees and Organizations

Email currently serves as a primary means of communication within the business world

(Purcell & Rainie, 2014). As a tool for communication, business email has become so

ubiquitous that it permeates various realms in the lives of employees across the globe. For

example, in their 2013 study of 1,376 Australian workers, Pockock and Skinner (2013) found

that a quarter of managerial and professional respondents check their email before breakfast each

morning. Similar behaviors were found in the United States by the American Psychological

Association (APA) in their study of 1,084 adults, 54% of those who reported checking email

when on sick leave (2013). Employees’ compulsions to respond to work email may be partially

borne out of its ease of use (Beals, 2013). Email, after all, is a tool that can facilitate

communication with anyone at any time of the day or night (Mazmanian, 2013). Further, ease of

use has increased with the proliferation of the smartphone, enabling employees to have access in

the palms of their hands (Alpert, 2014).

While email is a convenient and instantly accessible form of communication, it is not

without its drawbacks. Specifically, email as a tool for communication can prove problematic

because it constantly disrupts employees, forcing them to switch tasks and break concentration

(Friedman, 2014). Additionally, because email is so easily accessible, employees are often

perceived as reachable virtually anywhere and at any time (Mazmanian, 2013). The perception

that employees are reachable, and thus available, blurs the lines between home and work, as

employees increasingly borrow from time in their private lives in order to engage in work

activities (Deal, 2013). This scenario represents constant connectivity, whereby employees are

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constantly connected to their work activities vis-à-vis technological offerings such as email

(Wajcman & Rose, 2011; Mazmanian, 2013).

Email’s ability to constantly interrupt and disrupt the balance between work and life

proves taxing for employees by inducing stress (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014; Kushlev & Dunn,

2014; Yun, Kettinger & Lee, 2012). Stress, in turn, negatively impacts employee health (Cohen,

Janicki-Deverts, Doyle, Miller, Frank, Rabin, & Turner, 2012). Further, reduced levels of health

are linked to reduced productivity (Cole & Neumayer, 2005). Therefore, this Capstone posits

that a causal relationship exists between constant connectivity, stress, poor health, and reduced

productivity. Specifically, organizational norms that encourage constant email connectivity can

create job stress for employees, resulting in poor health outcomes at an individual level and

reduced productivity at an organizational level. Given this linkage, the question becomes, how

can the field of Human Resources (HR) mitigate the stress-related outcomes of constant email

connectivity in employee populations? This Capstone posits that the answer to this question is

found in the argument that the field of HR can, in partnership with employees and leadership

teams, mitigate the stress related outcomes of constant email connectivity through the crafting of

healthy norms around email behavior.

This Capstone argues that organizational norms around email behavior serve as the

foundation for the concept of constant connectivity, which then results in increased stress,

diminished health, and reduced productivity. In order to mitigate the effects of the cause, HR

practitioners should work to shift those norms via normative re-educative strategy in partnership

with employees and leadership teams. This Capstone explores the concept of constant

connectivity, its consequences, and how it can be mitigated via normative re-educative strategy.

This exploration takes place in three chapters. The first chapter elucidates the history of email,

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how it has evolved, and why constant connectivity proves problematic. The second chapter

explores the theoretical concepts that underpin the practical problems presented in the first

chapter. The third chapter provides specific and feasible recommendations that can assist in

addressing the problem of constant connectivity. In providing recommendations, the intent of

this Capstone is to aid the HR community in addressing the widespread problem of

organizational norms that drive constant connectivity. By addressing this problem, HR

practitioners can assist in the reduction of employees’ stress levels, positively impacting both

health and productivity. In order for HR practitioners to address this problem holistically, it is

recommended that they do so in partnership with employees and leadership teams in order to

craft healthy norms around email behavior.

Scope

The scope of this Capstone is to examine the concept of constant connectivity and its

implications for employees and organizations. This examination takes place in three chapters

and reviews the implications of constant connectivity from 1984 through present. In the first

chapter, this examination considers the history of email and its prevalence throughout the

business community. Next, this examination explores the concepts that underpin constant

connectivity and identifies organizational norms as a key driver of constant connectivity.

Further, this examination consists of a review of how constant connectivity is linked to stress.

Additionally, this examination reviews literature around how stress is then linked to poor health

outcomes, which have implications for organizational productivity. In the second chapter, this

examination delves into the various theories and models that provide a better understanding of

the behaviors around constant connectivity. By taking this approach in the second chapter, this

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Capstone seeks to help readers understand the practical problem of constant connectivity and its

implications in the context of its theoretical underpinnings. The third chapter entails concrete

and feasible practices that can be taken within the field of HR in order to address the problems

associated with constant connectivity. This Capstone examines the problem of constant

connectivity and its implications for a vast range of occupations in both the public and private

sectors and draws upon scholarship from around the world.

Aims

This Capstone has theoretical, methodological and practical aims. From a theoretical

perspective, this Capstone aims to draw upon the theories of techno-stress, techno-overload,

techno-invasion, telepressure, and the cycle of responsiveness in order to provide the reader with

the concepts that underpin the relationship between overexposure to email and stress (Brod,

1984; Tarafdar, Tu, B. Ragu-Nathan, and T. Ragu-Nathan (2007); Barber & Santuzzi, 2014;

Perlow, 2012). This Capstone also draws upon Kelman’s (1958) processes regarding the

implications of social influences to explain the relationship between normative behavior and

email practices. Further, this Capstone examines the effort recovery model (Meijman & Mulder,

1998) in order to explain the need for employees to disconnect from their work email accounts.

The methodological aims of this Capstone are to draw upon scholarly research that pertains to

key findings around the practical and research problems. Further, this Capstone aims to analyze

both qualitative and quantitative data that provide insight into the phenomena of norms, constant

connectivity, stress, health, and productivity. Included in such data are exploratory,

ethnographic, correlational, and case studies. From a practical perspective, the aim of this

Capstone is to bring greater awareness to the problem of constant connectivity, its relationship to

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organizational norms, and its implications for employees and organizations. In bringing

awareness, the greater aim is to provide concrete and actionable recommendations that can be

utilized by the field of HR in order to mitigate the problem and its associated outcomes.

Objectives

The objectives of this Capstone are fourfold. The first objective is to describe the

normative behavior that gives rise to email-related stress. The second objective is to explain the

connection between email-related stress, health outcomes, and productivity. The third objective

is to detail the theoretical constructs that elucidate how normative behavior impacts individual

email practices. The fourth objective is to present feasible recommendations that the field of HR

can take in order to mitigate the problems associated with constant connectivity.

Justification

The justification of this Capstone is rooted in the acknowledgement that the average

business email user sends and receives over 120 email messages per day (Radicati, 2014). This

constant flow of email proves problematic for employees because it represents a never-ending

task list, disrupts activities, and blurs the lines between work and home activities (Barley,

Meyerson & Grodal, 2011). Despite the problems that constant connectivity can pose for

employees, a gap remains between the practical problem and how the field of HR is currently

addressing it. This gap is demonstrated in a 2012 survey of HR professionals that was conducted

by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) (2012); less than a quarter of HR

professionals provided any formal policy regarding work-related email use after working hours.

Further, only 26% of respondents to the SHRM survey reported that they provided informal

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guidance regarding email-related activities during non-working hours (SHRM, 2012).

Therefore, the justification is found in the acknowledgement that the problem is salient in the

contemporary business community, but not widely addressed by the field of HR.

Limitations

The limitations of this Capstone include the fact that it does not contain primary research.

The lack of primary research is due to time constraints. An additional limitation is the

acknowledgement that there is limited scholarly research regarding the email activities of

organizations that have taken measures to mitigate constant connectivity. The work of Perlow

(2012) is an exception to this limitation. The third limitation of this Capstone is the fact that it

does not differentiate between sectors and positions. This lack of differentiation may serve as a

limitation because it does not clearly delineate why certain employees in certain positions and

fields are more susceptible to constant connectivity.

Literature Review

This Literature Review identifies the research problem as one that entails organizational

norms as the basis for constant connectivity, which results in stress, poor health, and reduced

productivity. Given the identification of this problem, a relevant question within the field of HR

is, how can the field of HR mitigate email-related stress to prevent or reduce its negative

outcomes? This Literature Review suggests that the field of HR can, in partnership with

employees and leadership teams, work to mitigate email-related stress and its associated

outcomes by crafting healthy organizational norms and expectations with regard to work-related

email use. Further, this Literature Review proposes that one method to shift organizational

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norms around email use is through normative re-educative strategy. This Literature Review

synthesizes scholarly research around the relationship between organizational norms that

encourage constant email connectivity, resulting in job stress, poor individual health outcomes,

and reduced organizational productivity. The primary purpose of this Literature Review is to

examine email-related stress from a thematic perspective, elucidating the multiple theories that

exist within this context. Doing so should help the reader understand both the causes and effects

of email-related stress. In order to narrow the body of literature examined, only literature

involving the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) published within the

past 31 years is included in the review. Following the thematic examination of email-related

stress, this Literature Review will address the gap between the problem and how it is being

addressed within the field of HR.

An Overview of Email Stress and Associated Outcomes

The spread of email use throughout the business world began taking place throughout the

1990s and continues into the first part of the 21st century (Hafner, 2001; Fallows, 2002). Email

has changed the way that employees communicate and interact, insofar that it offers an

instantaneous platform for communication (Mark, Voida, & Cardello, 2012). As a result of the

proliferation of email, employees are able to conduct business at any time and in almost any

location (MacDonald, 2014). While there are numerous benefits to such easily accessible

communication tools, there are also negative repercussions that impact employees and

organizations. Specifically, because employees are reachable at any time of day or night, they

are constantly connected to their work lives, even when engaging in non-work-related activities

at home (Deal, 2013). Further, email can serve as an interruption to employees, as it constantly

distracts employees from one task, pulling them into completing another (Freidman, 2014).

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The utility of email is found in the belief that it enables employees to work anywhere and

at any time (Mazmanian, 2013). Yet, the concept of anywhere, any time has morphed into one

where employees feel the pull to work constantly, evolving into a state where they are always

reachable, and thus always available to engage in work activities (Mazmanian, 2013). As

previously mentioned, the notion of constant connectivity is rooted in the scenario whereby

employees are constantly engaged in work activities because of technological offerings,

including email (MacDonald, 2014). The concept of being constantly connected to work via

email is one that has been explored by numerous scholars, each of whom put forth various

rationales to explain what drives employees to stay constantly connected to their work email

accounts (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014; Mazmanian & Erickson, 2014; Kolb, Caza, & Collins,

2012). Mazmanian and Erickson (2014) posited that economic rationales prompt employees to

stay connected. In that argument, employees must stay connected to work via email because

their connection to clients is offered by their organizations as product offering (Mazmanian &

Erickson, 2014). Kolb et al. (2012) cited actor agency as one driver of constant connectivity and

suggested that individuals stay connected as an individual choice. Barber and Santuzzi (2014)

examined the role that organizational norms play in constant connectivity and argued that it is

partially a product of employees’ desires to adhere to organizational norms. In this argument,

employees adopt the normative email behavior of the organization and thus seek to build

relationships and manage others’ impressions of them (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). While each of

the aforementioned rationales for explaining constant connectivity are noteworthy, Barber and

Santuzzi’s (2014) work around organizational norms is particularly germane because it appears

linked to the research of Turner, Grube, Tinsley, Lee, and O’Pell (2006) whose study of 88

employees found a positive relationship between higher email usage rates and better performance

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ratings. Therefore, employees may stay connected to work email at all hours in order to engage

in impression management, whereby they are accepted by their peers and deemed effective in

their jobs (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014; Turner et al., 2006). Regardless of the differences in

opinion regarding what drives constant connectivity, it can result in prolonged workdays and

stress (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014; Mazmanian, 2013; Kushlev & Dunn, 2014; Yun et al., 2012).

Prolonged workdays result in stress because they take away from the time during which

employees can engage in non-work activities that are essential to health (Meijman & Mulder,

1998). The production of stress as a result of inadequate non-working periods is understood in

the context of the effort recovery model whereby employees must take periods of rest in order to

sustain their health (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). In the effort recovery model, employee health is

engendered when employees take breaks from work activities in order to mitigate the stress-

related outcomes of exerting effort associated with prolong periods of work which can lead to

stress (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). Workplace stress poses a problem to the workforce in that it

is linked to numerous negative outcomes, including poor health and productivity loss (Newton &

Teo, 2014).

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1999) stated that workplace

stress is characterized by unfavorable mental and physical responses that are generated as a result

of conditions at work. Workplace stress can occur when an employee perceives an incongruity

between the requirements of his or her work and his or her ability to adequately respond to those

requirements (Babatunde, 2013). From a health perspective, workplace stress has consequences

for employees that range from depression to heart disease (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997; APA,

2010). An individual employee’s workplace stress experiences impact the organizations by

which he or she is employed. For example, Adams (2009) argued that increased stress results in

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profit loss as it is linked to poor health outcomes which result in increased health care

expenditures for organizations. Additionally, profit loss can occur as a byproduct of poor health

due to the latter’s ability to cause absenteeism and presenteeism (Cooper & Dewey, 2008;

Stewart, Ricci, Chee, Hahn, & Morganstein, 2003).

This problem is significant and relevant to the business community in general, and to the

field of HR in particular, because email has become such an integral part of how businesses

operate. Yet there is a complex relationship between the email tools that enable employees to

work more capably and the consequences (namely stress) that employees who utilize them

experience (Mazmanian, Orlikowski, & Yates, 2013). As previously stated, those consequences

range from anger and depression to cardiovascular disease at the individual level (APA, 2010;

Cartwright & Cooper, 1997), which then create organizational productivity implications

including presenteeism, where employees engage in work although they are unhealthy, and

absenteeism, which entails employees’ absence from work, (Cooper & Dewey, 2008; Stewart et

al., 2003). While this problem is relevant and practical, it does have theoretical foundations

which beget a greater understanding as to why and how it takes place.

The Theoretical Foundations of Technology’s Relationship to Stress

Brod (1984) first explored technology-induced workplace stress, where he introduced the

term technostress to describe the stress that results when individuals are not able to utilize newly

introduced computer technologies in a healthy manner. Given the rapid expansion of computer

technology in the workplace throughout the 1980s and 1990s and into the 21st century, it is not

surprising that a body of literature that explored the relationship between technology use and

stress emerged. Brod (1984) argued that technostress can manifest in one of two ways. The first

manifestation of technostress can emerge when employees struggle to accept and interact with

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technologies (Brod, 1984). The second manifestation of technostress takes place when

employees overly-identify with technology (Brod, 1984). In the second scenario, employees

allow technology to play a central role in their lives, resulting in constant work which is driven

by the technological offerings available (Brod, 1984). This Literature Review focuses on the

scenario where employees overly-identify with technology. Included in that body of literature is

research that investigated the specific triggers of technostress. The concept of technostress can,

therefore, be examined at the level of its sub-concepts within the larger theory.

Tarafdar et al. (2007) illustrated this collection of conditions that creates the

subcategories of technostress. This Literature Review will focus on two of those subcategories.

The first condition, techno-overload, describes users who are overwhelmed by the amount of

information that is available to them because of advances in information and communication

technology (ICT) (Tarafdar et al., 2007). The theory of techno-overload applies when the

presence of technology creates the perception that employees are pressured to work more

quickly, work with shorter deadlines, and change work habits to adapt to new technological

offerings (Tarafdar et al., 2007). The stress-related effects of techno-overload occur when users

are so overwhelmed by the amount of information that is available to them that their ability to

make decisions diminishes, their attention spans decrease, and they fail to memorize information

(Salanova, Llorens, & Cifre, 2013).

Tarafdar et al. (2007) developed the term techno-invasion to describe the phenomenon

that occurs when an employee is constantly connected to his or her work life due to the advent of

ICTs. Techno-invasion results when the user’s personal life is impacted, or invaded, by his or

her work life because of constant connectivity (Tarafdar et al., 2007). The impacts of techno-

invasion are multifaceted. Barber and Jenkins (2013) explored the impact of work-related ICT

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use in the home in a study of 315 participants and found that work-related ICT use at home

impacted the quality of sleep for individuals due to their inability to psychologically disengage

from their work-related communications when trying to fall asleep. According to Yun et al.

(2012), the rise of ICT use at home produces conflict for employees when work-related tasks

direct them away from activities in their personal lives during non-work hours. While the work

of Brod (1984) and Tarafdar et al. (2007) speaks broadly to technology’s impact on employee

stress, their research also pertains to email more specifically in that email creates stress for

employees because it can overwhelm employees with distractions and also bleed their work-

related activities into their personal lives (Mazmanian, 2013; Barley et al., 2011). Given the

arguments that overexposure to technology can result in stress, it is necessary to examine why

employees engage in these behaviors despite their stress inducing outcomes. That examination

leads to the work of Barber and Santuzzi (2014) who argue that employees may engage with

technology constantly in order to build relationships and manage others’ impressions.

The Role of Organizational Norms in Constant Connectivity

The concepts of techno-overload and techno-invasion are similar in that they both entail

the creation of stress because of excess. Techno-overload takes place when employees are

exposed to excessive information; techno-invasion results when employees are exposed to

excessive connectivity, and thus, reachability (Tarafdar et al., 2007). Although these two sub-

concepts of technostress involve different triggers and different outcomes, they are similar in that

they both illustrate the increasingly salient viewpoint that employees need be both accessible and

respondent as a result of ICT use (Yun et al., 2012). This can create stress for employees

because they feel pressure to be both technologically accessible and respondent at all times even

when faced with multiple competing priorities (Barley et al., 2011; Barber & Santuzzi, 2014).

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Barber and Santuzzi (2014) introduced the term telepressure to describe the pressure that

exists for employees to engage in work-related ICT communications constantly and to respond to

messages quickly. The concept of telepressure is a hybrid of techno-overload and techno-

invasion because of the emphasis placed on accessibility and responsiveness. However, the

concept of telepressure differs from the two aforementioned concepts because it explores how

employees perceive themselves within the context of work-related pressures that may result in

stress outcomes (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Specifically, telepressure links employee behavior

surrounding ICT use to prevailing organizational norms. According to Jones (1998) norms are

standards that are considered accepted and agreed-upon by a group of people. Norms are

typically not written or formalized, but serve as unspoken beliefs that come to fruition over time

and inform how members within a group behave (Jones, 1998). Although norms are not

formalized policies, they do elicit specific behaviors by members of the group. When those

norms entail high levels of employee accessibility and responsiveness due to ICT use, individual

employees are more likely to engage in those behaviors in an attempt to conform to that

normative behavior (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Therefore, telepressure is similar to the concept

of peer pressure in that both elicit behaviors by individual members of a group in their effort to

be accepted by the group as a whole. In this sense, telepressure impacts employees when they

allow the perceptions of their coworkers to inform their behavior as it pertains to ICT use

(Barber & Santuzzi, 2014).

Telepressure is similar to technostress and its subcategories of techno-overload and

techno-invasion in that there are stress implications for all. Barber and Santuzzi’s (2014)

research concerning telepressure, however, is unique in that it delineates how prolonged stress

results when employees are expected to be accessible and responsive to requests during both

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working and nonworking hours because they feel pressured to do so in order to be accepted vis-

à-vis the practice of normative email behavior. Barber and Santuzzi (2014) further argued that

prolonged exposure to stress as a result of telepressure has negative implications for both

physical and psychological health, including emotional exhaustion.

The Gap Between the Problem of Constant Connectivity and HR

A review of the literature regarding email-related workplace stress suggests that there is a

gap between the problem and how it is currently addressed by the field of HR. Barber and

Santuzzi (2014) contended that email-related stress is a problem that businesses can work to

mitigate through the creation of organizational norms around email behavior. This argument was

rooted in their assertion that employees adopt normative email behavior in order to build

relationships with peers (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). The field of HR can play a central role in

the creation and communication of email norms in order to foster a healthier working

environment as it pertains to email use. In doing so, HR is poised to impact email usage

behavior within employee populations.

Organizational culture is personified by the behavioral norms and attitudes of those who

belong to the organization (Nadler, 2006). According to Kachru (2010), the field of HR is

uniquely positioned to inform organizational culture because HR practices embody the

prevailing values of the organization. HR practitioners can, therefore, be influential in mitigating

email-related workplace stress by setting the organizational norms and expectations that give rise

to its existence. Although the field of HR can be influential in informing organizational norms, it

should also be noted that leadership and individual employees must also support stress-reduction

attempts in order to be successful (Bhagat, Segovis, & Nelson, 2012). In partnership with

leadership and employees, HR practitioners can facilitate the creation of healthy norms

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surrounding email use by communicating an organizational commitment to employee health and

by also embodying that commitment in practice. One method in order to shift norms is through

normative re-educative strategy, whereby the prevailing organizational beliefs are shifted in

order to produce intended behaviors (Bennis, Benne, & Chin, 1984). In doing so, HR

practitioners have the opportunity to impact employee health outcomes and organizational

effectiveness.

Literature Review Conclusion

Workplace stress is a phenomenon linked to poor physical and psychological health

outcomes for employees (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). Those health outcomes threaten

organizational success because they lead to reduced productivity (Cooper & Dewey, 2008;

Stewart et al. 2003). Workplace stress has many drivers, and excessive email use is among them

(Kushlev & Dunn, 2014). The expansion of email use in the workplace has enabled businesses

and their employees to conduct business more rapidly. However, although these advances have

enabled increased communication and organizational capability, they have also resulted in

increased stress levels for employees (Kushlev & Dunn, 2014; Barber & Santuzzi, 2014).

Because email-related stress is linked to negative health outcomes for employees, there is risk in

not addressing unhealthy behaviors surrounding email use. That risk entails an erosion of

individual employee health and therefore organizational effectiveness. Although the risks

associated with not addressing the problem may seem straightforward, addressing the problem of

email workplace stress is complex.

The complexity of this problem arises in the acknowledgement that there are multiple

facets to consider when examining the proliferation of email use within employee populations.

One argument is that the use of email has allowed for increased connectivity and accessibility,

15


which foster increased efficacy (Mazmanian et al., 2013). Conversely, the excessive use of

email is counterproductive because of its ability to induce stress in the forms of techno-overload,

techno-invasion, and telepressure (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014; Tarafdar et al., 2007). Therefore,

the problem becomes more complex when trying to strike a balance between healthy and

unhealthy email behaviors. The purpose of finding the balance is to optimize the efficacy of

available email platforms without allowing them to adversely impact the health of users. A

review of the literature suggests that there is a gap between the problem and how the field of HR

is addressing it. Barber and Santuzzi (2014) contended that setting organizational norms

surrounding ICT use could foster healthier behaviors. The field of HR has an opportunity to play

a central role in the creation and communication of those norms because of its unique ability to

impact organizational culture (Kachru, 2010). Organizational leadership and employee

populations, in partnership with the field of HR, are also poised to make an impact on

organizational norms as they pertain to email use.

Methodology

This Capstone takes a mixed-method approach to reviewing both qualitative and

quantitative data around organizational norms, constant connectivity, stress, health and

productivity. Included in this Capstone are five key studies: an exploratory study, two

correlational studies, a mixed-method study that contains employee interviews, and a case study.

In addition to the aforementioned key studies, this Capstone draws upon salient scholarly

research as well as research from trade organizations such as SHRM and APA. Further, this

Capstone incorporates pertinent medical research studies. Each source was chosen in order to

16


provide insight into the issues of organizational norms, constant connectivity, stress, health, and

productivity.

Results

As mentioned in the previous section, this Capstone draws upon five key studies. The

first of those is an exploratory study performed by Kushlev and Dunn (2014). In their two-week

study of 124 adults, Kushlev and Dunn (2014) provided quantitative backing to the claim that

email overexposure causes stress. This study began with 142 randomly selected participants

who responded to a call for research subjects who received excessive email. By the time the

study ended, there were 124 participants because 18 participants dropped out. Kushlev and

Dunn (2014) designed the study so that the participants spent one week in an unlimited email

condition and the other in a limited email condition. In the unlimited condition, participants

were told to keep their email inboxes open throughout the day, checking and responding to

emails as frequently as they normally would (Kushlev & Dunn, 2014). In the limited condition,

participants were told to check their inboxes only three times per day and to keep their inboxes

closed for the remainder of the day (Kushlev & Dunn, 2014). Not surprisingly, even in the

limited condition, participants were unable or unwilling to limit their email checking to only

three times per day and found themselves checking it over four times per day on average

(Kushlev & Dunn, 2014). Further, participants checked their email over three times as often in

the unlimited condition as the limited condition (Kushlev & Dunn, 2014). At the completion of

each day of the two-week study, participants filled out surveys in order to self-report on their

own stress levels using a Likert scale. The self-reported levels of stress were higher during days

in which they had unlimited access to email (Kushlev & Dunn, 2014). The inclusion of this

study serves as the basis for the linkage between email and associated stress outcomes.

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The second key piece of research utilized in this Capstone consisted of a correlational

study that linked email use to performance by comparing self-reported email behavior to

performance appraisal ratings in a group of 88 employees at a multi-national telecommunications

firm (Turner et al., 2006). This study started with a survey that was sent to 115 employees. Of

the 115 who were sent the survey, 88 participants responded. Turner et al. (2006) hypothesized

that a positive association between employee adherence to organizational email norms and

performance evaluations would exist in this group of 88 employees. The means to validate this

hypothesis was a survey where employees were asked to self-identify their own use of email on a

Likert scale from one to five, with one indicative of using email rarely and five indicative of

using email almost constantly. Turner et al. (2006) then asked the supervisors of the surveyed

employees to fill out a performance appraisal of their respective subordinates, which also

included a Likert scale. Turner et al. (2006) then analyzed the two data sets and found that

employees who adhered to organizational norms regarding email use were awarded with higher

performance appraisal ratings than those who did not, suggesting a correlation between

adherence to email norms and perceived performance. Important to note is that Turner et al.

(2006) controlled for numerous other variables in order to eliminate the possibility of any other

bias that may have influenced the performance ratings. This study serves as the foundation for

the argument that email usage is linked to overall perceptions of employee performance.

The third key study included in this Capstone draws on the research of Barley et al.

(2011) who interviewed 40 managerial and non-managerial employees of an internationally-

recognized technology company. Those interviews included a series of open-ended questions

that sought to gain insight into how email behaviors impact employees. What resulted from

those interviews was the insight that employees perceived robust cultural expectations regarding

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email behavior, driving them to respond to emails quickly (Barley et al., 2011). Further, these

interviews provided the insight that those who answered email quickly were perceived to have

strong reputations, suggesting a linkage between email response times and perceived

effectiveness (Barley et al., 2011). This research provides the foundation for the argument that

email behavior is linked to reputation among peers.

The fourth key study included in this Capstone draws upon the work of Barber and

Santuzzi (2014) who introduced the term telepressure as “the combination of a strong urge to be

responsive to people at work through message-based ICTs with a preoccupation with quick

response times” (p. 1). The study of telepressure was conducted through Amazon’s Mechanical

Turk software with a population of 354 participants in the United States. The survey correlated

responses to respondents’ self-reported email behavior to the perceived organizational norms of

their employer organizations via a Likert scale. Barber and Santuzzi (2014) found that the

phenomenon of telepressure was correlated to email response norms, driving employees to stay

connected with and respond quickly to work-related communication (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014).

This study serves as the foundation for the argument that organizational norms inform

individuals’ email behavior.

Finally, this Capstone draws on the Perlow’s (2012) case study of employees at Boston

Consulting Group (BCG) to posit that it is possible to change organizational norms around

constant connectivity. Perlow (2012) detailed this case study by examining one team of six

people at BCG who adopted the practice of Predictable Time Off (PTO) whereby employees

were encouraged to refrain from constant email connectivity. This practicew was anchored in

structured dialogue and team-based goals that encouraged employees to not engage in constant

connectivity. The practice of PTO was so successful that it has spread to over 900 teams across

19


thirty countries on five continents throughout BCG and has allowed employees to enjoy better

work-life balance while still meeting the needs of their clients (Perlow, 2012). The claim that

better work-life balance can result from the practice of PTO was found in Perlow’s (2012)

argument that 62% of employees who engaged in PTO at BCG’s Boston, New York, and

Washington DC offices reported that they were satisfied with their work-life balance. This

stands in contrast to those who did not engage in PTO practices, as only 38% of those

respondents reported satisfaction with their work-life balance. This case study serves as the

basis for the argument that it is possible to shift organizational norms around constant

connectivity and that in order to do so, it is necessary to build an alliance of employees and

leadership in order to make this shift.

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Chapter One: Email Norms Impact Employees and Organizations

Email has been used as a means of communication within the business community for

less than 30 years. In spite of its relatively short history, email has become a dominant

communication medium for the business community (Purcell & Rainie, 2014). This chapter

takes a historical viewpoint of email and illuminates its prominent role in employees’ work and

home lives. Next, this chapter explores the concept of constant connectivity and ultimately

argues that organizational norms are the primary drivers behind the phenomenon. Finally, this

chapter explores the relationships among constant connectivity, stress, health, and productivity.

The primary argument of this chapter is that a causal relationship exists between these variables

that starts with organizational norms, which leads to constant connectivity, then stress, poor

health outcomes, and ultimately, reduced productivity. That causal relationship is depicted in

Figure 1.

Figure 1. The linkage between organizational norms, constant connectivity, stress, poor health,

and reduced productivity. This figure illustrates the causal relationship between these factors in

the context of email behavior.

Organizational Norms

Constant Connectivity Stress Poor Health Reduced

Productivity

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The Origins of Email

Email has a relatively short history. Ray Tomlinson, a computer engineer at Bolt,

Beranek, & Newman, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based engineering firm, developed email as it

is currently known in 1971 (Hafner, 2001). Tomlinson made it possible to send a message from

one computer to another over a network, enabling individuals to communicate with one another

via computers. Email in its earliest form was used almost exclusively by the U.S. Government,

even before the Internet came into existence (Hafner, 2001). The U.S. Government used email

to communicate official business, on the pre-Internet network called the Advanced Research

Project Agency Network (ARPANET) (Partridge, 2008). ARAPNET was managed and

administered by the United States Department of Defense throughout the 1970s, and email was,

therefore, limited to use by the U.S. Government and a number of research universities

throughout the United States (National Science Foundation, 2015). Throughout the 1970s the

functionality of email improved, including the added ability to both reply to and delete emails

(Hafner, 2001). Despite improvements in functionality and ease of use, email was not widely

used within the business community until well into the 1990s (Hafner, 2001).

Email in the Business Community

The adoption of email into the business community followed suit as the Internet became

widespread and users increasingly accepted and embraced it as a means to exchange information

and conduct business (Hafner, 2001). The growth in Internet use during the past twenty years is

represented by the estimate that usage among adults in the United States grew from 15% in 1994

to 87% in 2014 (Pew Research Center, 2013). Mirroring the history of the Internet, the history

of email is characterized by increased use throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century.

22


Fallows (2002) estimated that 98% of employed Americans use email as a part of their work.

Email has become so ubiquitous that it was believed to be utilized by 4.1 billion users worldwide

in the year 2014 (Radicati, 2014). While business mailboxes account for less than 25% of

mailboxes worldwide, it is estimated that business-related email accounts for the majority of

worldwide email traffic, with over 100 billion business emails sent per day (Radicati, 2014).

Increased Accessibility in the Era of Mobile Devices

Accessibility to email has become even greater due to the advent of mobile devices and

specifically smartphones (Yun et al., 2012). White and Mills (2012) have defined a smartphone

“as a cellular phone that contains many functions of a personal computer such as the use of an

operating system, Internet connectivity and an increased capacity for data storage when

compared with a traditional mobile phone” (p. 2). According to the Pew Research Center

(2014), over 58% of Americans own smartphones. Chen (2012) has contended that smartphone

use is on the rise globally and estimated that by the year 2016, over 350 million workers around

the world will use them. The practice of smartphone usage is remarkable not only because of its

prevalence, but also because of its seemingly habit-forming nature (Schumpeter, 2012). Pitichat

(2013) characterized that habit-forming nature by stating that smartphone users are rarely out of

arm's reach from their devices. Gibbs (2012) described this habit-forming nature by highlighting

a survey of 4,700 smartphone users from the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China,

India, and South Korea. A quarter of respondents acknowledged checking their phones once

every 30 minutes (Gibbs, 2012). Smith (2012) cited similar findings in his study of 2,254 adult

smartphone users in the United States, 67% of whom concede that they check their phones for

messages even when they did not hear them ring or feel them vibrate.

23


The phenomenon of ubiquitous smartphone use has unique implications for business

users. According to Turkle (2011), smartphones enable workers to access and share information

more proficiently because smartphones have the same range of operations as laptops or desktop

computers but are handheld. The mobile nature of the smartphone heightens the ability to send

and receive communication at any time of the day or night and in virtually any location (Yun et

al., 2012). Therefore, the workday of previous generations that was typified by phone calls, in-

person interactions, and defined start and end times, is in an erosive state (Wajcman & Rose,

2011). Contemporary office workers face increasing demands on their time and attention due to

the proliferation of information and communication technologies, including smartphones and

email applications (Schaufenbuel, 2014; Wajman & Rose, 2011). MacDonald (2014) argued that

these technological advances have allowed workers to conduct business virtually anywhere and

at any time, fostering the concept of constant connectivity. This concept is central to the

relationship between email and stress.

Constant Connectivity

Connectivity in the context of technology is characterized by the ability of a user to

connect with other users through information and communication devices and platforms

(Mazmanian, 2013). Constant connectivity speaks to the seemingly ceaseless nature of those

connections (Wajcman & Rose, 2011). The concept of availability underpins the larger concept

of constant connectivity. Mazmanian and Erickson (2014) defined availability as a

“sociotechnical state of being constantly connected and accessible to others” (p. 1). This

definition highlights the intersection between technology and human behavior within the concept

of constant connectivity. That intersection is understood when considering that technological

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offerings in the forms of smartphones, tablets, and laptops have enabled users to communicate

with one another. However, human behavior in the form of constantly checking devices drives

the phenomenon of constant connectivity (Wilson, 2014).

Incongruent Findings Around How Constant Connectivity Impacts Employees

Constant connectivity and therefore availability was explored by Manzanian (2013) in a

three-year ethnographic study of employees within a mid-sized apparel company. The study was

conducted shortly after the advent of the BlackBerry, and sought to understand the basis for why

some groups of employees were subject to the phenomenon that is constant connectivity,

whereas other groups utilized BlackBerry only when necessary, but not constantly. In seeking to

understand what drives constant connectivity, Mazmanian (2013) uncovered two incongruent

themes from employee viewpoints regarding the value, or lack thereof, that it provided for them.

One prevailing viewpoint that Mazmanian (2013) uncovered was that mobile technology, for one

of the two groups of employees, was believed to allow those employees to work more

proficiently and more flexibly. This viewpoint entailed the belief that users could control when

and how often to check email and connect with colleagues and clients via BlackBerry

(Mazmanian, 2013). From this perspective, the users within this group considered their

BlackBerrys as devices that could help them to work more efficiently, but not constantly

(Mazmanian, 2013). The second group of employees that Mazmanian (2013) researched viewed

their BlackBerrys from a different perspective. This group described feelings of frustration with

being contacted by colleagues and clients in the evenings and on weekends, fearing they were

missing out on their family and social activities because they were tethered to their devices by

carrying their BlackBerrys with them at all times (Mazmanian, 2013).

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The two themes that Mazmanian (2013) described are shaped by two different narratives

and serve to elucidate the complex nature of constant connectivity. That complex nature was

further explored by Mazmanian et al. (2013) who described these seemingly antithetical

characteristics as autonomy paradox (p. 1337). The concept of autonomy paradox is one that

speaks directly to the duality of mobile email. Mobile email’s utility is that it offers flexibility to

work from anywhere and at any time. However, it can pose problematic for employees in that

can also escalate expectations regarding availability (Mazmanian et al., 2013). Therefore, the

state of being constantly connected has varied implications for employee populations, as there is

no one consistent narrative that summarizes its impact. Admittedly, because there are varied

impacts of constant connectivity, some may argue that it would be difficult to identify solutions

to solving it. However, given that there are employee populations who are impacted negatively

vis-à-vis stress, it serves as a complex problem that is deserving of consideration. That

consideration necessitates a better understanding of what drives constant connectivity.

Understanding What Drives Constant Connectivity

There are numerous schools of thought which seek to explain why constant connectivity

exists. Those schools of thought include economic logic, individual motivation rationale, and

reasoning drawn from normative organizational behavior. Mazmanian and Erickson (2014)

argued that economic logic explains why constant connectivity exists. Mazmanian and Erickson

(2014) made this argument based on their ethnographic study of over 200 professionals from a

wide variety of fields including banking, sales, and hospitality. Mazmanian and Erickson (2014)

argued that constant connectivity, and thus, availability, has become an offering within the

marketplace. Specifically, access to employees via technological offerings, including email, is

26


marketed to customers in the same fashion of traditional goods and services (Mazmanian &

Erickson, 2014). According to Mazmanian and Erickson (2014), the demands of the market

have served as a fundamental force in fostering the concept of constant connectivity.

Kolb et al. (2012) took a different approach to understanding what drives constant

connectivity with their argument that actor agency is a factor. Actor agency refers to the ability

of users to make their decisions regarding the connection activities (Kolb et al., 2012). This

argument focuses on the role of individual choices over market forces. Porter and Kakabadse

(2006) also examined individual action in the context of constant connectivity, but with a focus

on addiction and, specifically, workaholism as factors. In this scenario, the addictions of those

with workaholic tendencies are enabled by the proliferation of ICTs. Both of the previous

arguments that focus on the individual as the primary driver of constant connectivity are valid

but do not incorporate the role of organizational norms in the context of constant connectivity.

In yet another vein, Barber and Santuzzi (2014) illustrated the role that social influences

and specifically, organizational norms, play in encouraging constant connectivity within

employee populations. Feldman (1984) defined norms as the “informal rules that groups adopt

to regulate and regularize group members’ behavior” (p. 47). Barber and Santuzzi (2014)

denoted the pressure that employees experience in attempting to conform to the normative email

behavior in their study of telepressure. The concept of telepressure is linked to the idea that

normative group behavior can influence individual email behavior by placing social pressure on

employees to adopt the email norms of the organization (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). The

theoretical construct of telepressure will be expanded upon in the second chapter of this

Capstone.

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The arguments of economic underpinning, individual motivation, and normative

organizational behavior each have merit in that they delineate logical reasoning to explain why

constant connectivity exists. The argument regarding organizational norms as drivers of email

behavior is especially salient given the research of Turner et al. (2006). Turner et al. (2006)

contended that the communication behavior that exists at the organizational level could influence

individual members’ behavior. Further, when members of an organization adopt and adhere to

the communication norms of the organization, they are rewarded (Turner et al., 2006). Based on

their results, Turner et al. (2006) concluded that higher rates of email usage were perceived to be

indicative of better performance (Turner et al., 2006). This study underpins the argument that

organizational norms not only drive email behavior, but that email behavior is a dimension that is

perceived to indicate an employee’s level of performance. For that reason, an organization’s

email norms are central to understanding how email can create stress within employee

populations.

How Email Norms Inform Email Practices

As stated in the introduction of this Capstone, organizational norms regarding email

behavior can cause stress for employees, leading to health outcomes at an individual level and

productivity implications at an organizational level. Email norms can cause stress because they

are linked to perceptions of performance and reputation (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014; Turner et al.,

2006). If employees are invested in their jobs and the organizations, employees will conform to

the normative email behavior of the organization in order to be perceived well by their

colleagues and clients (Turner et al., 2006). Barber and Santuzzi (2014) suggested that

employees will conform to email norms even when such norms lead to stress because of the

28


social need of the individual to be manage others’ impressions of them. Stress-causing email

norms manifest in a variety of practices. One such practice takes the form of apologizing

(Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Apologizing for perceived inadequacies regarding email behavior,

specifically around response times, reinforces the dominant organizational norms by suggesting

that there is a breach of those norms that requires forgiveness (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). The

recipient’s apologizing suggests to the sender that the recipient has done something wrong by not

responding quickly enough. This causes stress for employees because it engenders a sense that

responses must happen as soon as possible, and the faster the response, the better (Barber &

Santuzzi, 2014).

An additional norm that can give rise to stress is the practice of email escalation. Email

escalation is a norm that is also formed around response times. In the practice of email

escalation, senders can call attention to recipients’ perceived inadequate response times by

copying other recipients, often the original recipient’s supervisor (Turner et al., 2006). By

escalating an email to an employee’s supervisor, the recipient can be perceived as inefficient or

unresponsive (Turner et al., 2006). Thus, employees are concerned about their response times

and feel the need to respond to as many messages as possible, as quickly as possible, leading to

stress (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). A third norm that can give rise to stress is the seemingly

appropriate practice of sending emails at any time of the day or night. In Mazmanian’s (2013)

ethnographic study described in the preceding section, recipients reported receiving emails in the

evenings and weekends. This scenario generates stress as employees feel they must stay

connected to their email to avoid a backlog of unanswered emails from when they are not

connected (Barley, et al., 2011). Whittaker and Sidner (1996) contend that a backlog of emails

within a user’s inbox is problematic for employees because it can entail lost information and

29


reduced response times. Therefore, the norm of emailing colleagues and customers during non-

working hours creates stress because it represents a long task list upon the user’s return to email.

In order to avoid this backlog, users stay connected on evenings and weekends, taking away their

personal time (Deal, 2013). Given the focus on response times that the preceding norms

describe, it is appropriate to explore the nature of responsiveness in the context of email through

the lenses of synchronous versus asynchronous communication.

Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication

While synchronous communication occurs in real time, asynchronous communication

does not (Sotillo, 2000). In synchronous communication, such as a telephone conversation, users

are expected to reply to communication immediately. For example, if there are two parties on a

call and one asks the other a question, the receiver of the question is expected to reply

immediately (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Email is one example of asynchronous communication

in that the recipient may not read an email at the exact moment that it comes into a user’s inbox

(Sotillo, 2000). Further, even if the recipient does read an email at the time that it comes into his

or her mailbox, the recipient has the choice to not respond immediately. Although email

communication is asynchronous, users often respond to email in the same manner in which they

would respond to synchronous communication (Tugent, 2012; Barber & Santuzzi, 2014).

Organizational norms are increasingly dictating that socially acceptable response times to emails

are becoming shorter as the use of smartphones and access to wireless networks increases among

employees (Park, Fritz, & Jex, 2011). Therefore, even though email is intended as an

asynchronous form of communication, it is increasingly seen as synchronous, compelling

employees to respond to messages as soon as possible (Park, et al., 2011).

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How Email Practices Can Lead to Stress

As stated in the Results section of this Capstone, the linkage between email and stress

was explored by Kushlev and Dunn (2014) who found a positive correlational relationship

between increased email checking and higher self-reported levels of stress. There are two

arguments that describe how email practices can lead to stress. The first argument entails email

overload as a cause of stress (Barley et al, 2011). Email overload takes place when employees

feel as if email is actually creating more work for them because they must handle an increased

number of requests via email (Barley et al., 2011). The second argument entails work-life

conflict related to email practices as a cause of stress (Barley et al., 2011). This argument entails

work-related activities causing stress for employees because they seep into the employee’s

personal life (Barley et al., 2011). While there is some overlap between arguments, they

distinctly describe two different reasons why email can cause stress. Namely, email overload

speaks to email’s capacity to generate more work for employees, whereas work-life conflict

related to email speaks to the problem of email blurring the lines between home and work

(Barley et al., 2011). The concept of email overload can be understood by examining the theory

of techno-overload (Tarafdar et al., 2007), and the concept of work-life conflict as it relates to

email behavior can be understood by examining the theory of techno-invasion (Tarafdar et al.,

2007). These concepts, which serve as the theoretical underpinnings for email overload and

work life conflict due to email, were introduced in the Literature Review and will be further

explored in the second chapter of this Capstone. Because email overload and work life conflict

generate work-related stress, it is important to explore the concept of work-related stress.

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Work-Related Stress

Work-related stress is a well-researched topic that draws upon the larger concept of stress

(Babatunde, 2013). Seyle (1976) introduced two forms of stress: eustress and distress. Eustress

serves as a motivational force in that it can evoke feelings of satisfaction that result from being

challenged in the effort to accomplish a task or goal (Bhagat et al., 2012). Distress is commonly

used interchangeably with the generalized term “stress” and denotes the unhealthy responses that

can occur when an individual is presented with a scenario where he or she feels taxed or

threatened and does not have the capacity to manage effectively (Bhagat et al., 2012).

Cartwright and Cooper (1997) theorized that stress manifests both physically and mentally and is

a human condition that has existed for thousands of years. Stress served as a survival technique

for early humans because it signaled a dangerous and potentially harmful situation (Cartwright &

Cooper, 1997). Stress is a reaction within the body and remains a condition within humans today

(Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). Stress reactions occur within the body when the pituitary and

adrenal glands release hormones, causing an increase of adrenaline and corticosteroid into the

bloodstream, impacting several systems in the body including the brain, heart, and nerves

(Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). Work-related stress pertains to the realm of employment and is

defined as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of

the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker” (NIOSH, 1999). As

described in the two preceding sections of this Capstone, email can create stress for employees

because it represents a task list that is never complete, blurs the boundaries between home and

work, and is a constant force in employees’ lives, regardless of time or location (Barber &

Santuzzi, 2014; Mazmanian, 2013; Kushlev & Dunn, 2014; Yun et al., 2012). Salleh (2008)

argued that not all stress results in poor health outcomes, but prolonged exposure to stress can do

32


so because it erodes the strength of the immune system, resulting in increased levels of illness.

Further, mental stress can generate physical responses (Salleh, 2008). Therefore, negative health

outcomes associated with stress can impact an individual’s well-being. Those health outcomes

are described in the following section.

Health Outcomes of Stress

As stated in the previous section of this Capstone, overexposure to email can create stress

for employees. Stress is problematic for employees at an individual level because it can create

negative health outcomes (Salleh, 2008). Cohen et al. (2012) explored that relationship in a

medical study of 276 adults and concluded that the linkage between prolonged stress and reduced

health is explained by increased levels of glucocorticoid receptor resistance that occurs from

stress, which diminishes the body’s ability to fight off disease. Physically, health outcomes are

numerous and can include obesity (Bose, Olivan & Laferrere, 2010), ulcers (Salleh, 2008), and

cardiovascular disease (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). From a mental health perspective, those

health outcomes include anger, nervousness, and depression (APA, 2010). The health outcomes

mentioned above do not represent an exhaustive list of the health consequences of prolonged

stress, but they do serve to elucidate the health implications that can arise from prolonged stress.

These health outcomes are problematic for employees at an individual level because they

threaten the quality of life. At an organizational level, these health outcomes are manifested in

the forms of presenteeism, absenteeism, and ultimately, profit loss (Stewart et al., 2003). These

outcomes are explored in the next section of this Capstone.

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Productivity Implications of Stress

The link between normative behavior and email practices was drawn out in a previous

section of this Capstone by highlighting the concept of constant connectivity. Following that

linkage, this Capstone sought to make the connection between overexposure to email via

normative behavior and work-related stress by exploring the research of Kushlev and Dunn

(2014). This Capstone then sought to make the link between work-related stress and health

outcomes by drawing upon the research of Cohen et al. (2012). In this section, this Capstone

seeks to draw out the relationship between health and productivity. This relationship can be

understood in the argument of Cole and Neumayer (2005) who contended that productivity could

diminish when employees are too ill to work. Conner (2013) echoed that sentiment with her

argument that organizational productivity is negatively impacted when employees are exhausted.

Poor health outcomes can be manifested into reduced productivity because of practices

such as absenteeism. Sarda (2015) contended that absenteeism could result from stress when an

employee seeks to avoid the stress-inducing aspects of his or her job. Additionally, when stress

manifests in illness, employees may be too ill to attend work, resulting in lost productivity.

Cooper and Dewey (2008) illustrated the linkage between illness and productivity by arguing

that there are an average of 175 million working days lost in Britain each year due to illness and

in 2006, British companies lost £20.2 billion as a result of illness-related absenteeism.

Presenteeism is also a by-product of poor health (Cooper & Dewey, 2008). Cooper and Dewey

(2008) characterized presenteeism as productivity loss that occurs as a by-product of employees

who perform work even when they are ill. In this scenario, employees who perform work when

they are ill cause productivity loss because their work products are sub-par (Cooper & Dewey,

2008). Hemp (2004) noted that presenteeism is not as easily observed or measured as

34


absenteeism, but it does create productivity loss. Stewart et al. (2003) put forth that the health-

related costs from factors including presenteeism and absenteeism are calculated to $228.5

billion in the United States alone. Therefore, productivity loss is a substantial problem that

results from poor health.

Chapter One Conclusion

The phenomenon that is constant connectivity is problematic for employees because it

can lead to stress and poor health (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). These individual outcomes

accumulate and negatively impact organizational productivity for reasons that include

absenteeism and presenteeism (Cooper & Dewey, 2008). Scholars (Mazmanian & Erickson,

2014; Kolb et al., 2012; Barber & Santuzzi, 2014) have taken varying approaches to

understanding the foundational basis of constant connectivity. This Capstone posits that Barber

and Santuzzi’s (2014) argument regarding organizational norms as a cause of constant

connectivity is especially relevant given the research of Turner et al. (2006). Therefore, in order

to address constant connectivity, it is essential to address the organizational norms that foster it.

In order to gain clarity around the intersection of norms, constant connectivity, and their

resulting implications, it is also important to understand their theoretical underpinnings. The

second chapter of this Capstone provides an analysis of the theories that clarify how and why the

practical problems described in this chapter exist.

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Chapter Two: Theoretical Underpinnings of Norms, Constant Connectivity, and Stress

Chapter One provided the historical background in order to contextualize the

phenomenon that is constant connectivity. It further elucidated several arguments regarding why

constant connectivity exists. Additionally, Chapter One put forth the argument that

organizational norms drive the practice of constant connectivity and those norms are reinforced

through email practices including apologizing and email escalation (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014;

Turner et al., 2006). These norms give rise to stress because they create the expectation that

employees should treat email as if it were a synchronous form of communication, when, in fact,

it is asynchronous. Further, employees’ extended exposure to constant email activity results in

higher levels of stress (Kushlev & Dunn, 2014; Mark et al., 2012). At an individual level, stress

has health outcomes that range from anger to cardiovascular disease (APA, 2010; Cartwright &

Cooper, 1997). Negative health outcomes have productivity consequences at an organizational

level because they can cause absenteeism or presenteeism (Stewart et al., 2003). Given the

linkage between constant connectivity and reduced productivity, it can be argued that in order to

assuage productivity loss as a by-product of constant connectivity, organizations should address

the phenomenon of constant connectivity. In order to do so effectively, organizations should

look to what is driving constant connectivity: organizational norms.

This chapter provides insight into the theoretical underpinnings of how organizational

norms, pressure, and stress intersect in the context of email behavior. This chapter brings forth

the argument that employees feel the pressure to remain constantly connected in order for their

peers and colleagues to perceive them well (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Further, employees

amplify their pressure to be perceived well through a concept called the cycle of responsiveness

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(Perlow, 2012). What results from the cycle of responsiveness is techno-stress, a unique type of

stress that takes place in response to technology. In order to combat the stress-related outcomes

of constant connectivity, organizations must first address the organizational norms that enable

that practice. It is important to understand the theories behind the behaviors in order to craft

solutions to the problem of constant connectivity.

Why Employees Adopt Behaviors

The first chapter of this Capstone posited that norms around email use drive constant

connectivity because individual email behavior is often viewed congruently with overall

performance (Turner et al., 2006). Those employees who conform to organizational norms of

being constantly connected and therefore available are viewed as more effective as those who do

not conform (Turner et al., 2006). Therefore, it follows that employees who wish to be viewed

as effective conform to normative email behavior in order to gain approval. Turner et al. (2006)

applied social influence theory to hypothesize that strong perceived organizational norms around

email use result in higher email usage rates among employees, allowing for the theoretical

understanding of how organizational norms influence individual behavior.

One theory of social influence was studied by Kelman (1958) who argued that individual

behavior is influenced through at least one of three processes. The first process consists of

compliance (Kelman, 1958). In this process, individuals adopt specific behaviors in order to

gain rewards or avoid punishment (Kelman, 1958). The process of compliance as it pertains to

email use is demonstrated by Turner et al. (2006) where they argue that employees who adopt

normative email behavior are rewarded with higher performance approval ratings. In contrast to

the process of compliance, Kelman (1958) introduced the process of internalization. The process

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of internalization is one that takes place because the individual finds value in a specific behavior

(Kelman, 1958). In this process, the individual gives credence to the behavior because it aligns

with his or her views (Kelman, 1958). The process of internalization provides the theoretical

basis for understanding Mazmanian et al. (2013) concept of the autonomy paradox. As

described in Chapter One, Mazmanian et al. (2013) introduced the concept of the autonomy

paradox to describe the seemingly incongruous nature of mobile email. In one viewpoint, users

of mobile email adopt to the normative email behavior of the group because they see the utility

of being able to access email at any time and in any location (Mazmanian et al., 2013).

Contrasting that viewpoint, is one that suggests that email tethers employees to their devices

resulting in frustration (Mazmanian et al., 2013). The process of internalization speaks directly

to the former viewpoint in that users adopt the behavior because they see the value in doing so.

Kelman (1958) theorized that the process of identification was different from that of

internalization because of its focus on relationship building. During identification, the individual

adopts a behavior because of its connection to the coveted relationship (Kelman, 1958).

Important to note is that relationships in this context are defined by other individuals or by the

group as a whole (Kelman, 1958). In examining identification through the lens of email

behavior, this process is one that is reflected within the concept of telepressure (Barber &

Santuzzi, 2014). Telepressure is a concept that overlaps with Kelman’s (1958) process of

identification in that both focus on relationship building as the root of adopting behavior.

Telepressure is distinct from identification, however, because it speaks directly to how

individuals adopt normative email behavior in order to build social relationships. The next

section of this paper will provide a greater description of telepressure and how it is linked to

constant connectivity.

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Telepressure

As stated in the previous section, telepressure is a construct that is built around

employees’ desires to build or maintain relationships at work through adhering to normative

email behavior. Telepressure is similar to peer pressure that occurs in adolescents insofar that it

is characterized by the need of the individual to fit in within the larger group (Barber & Santuzzi,

2014). Further, telepressure entails impression management, which takes place when employees

work to cultivate the perception that they are effective by being available and responsive to email

messages (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). The norms around responsiveness and availability and the

overwhelming desire to adopt those norms in order to build relationships and be accepted by the

dominant group are a key ingredient in the factors that give rise to the concept of constant

connectivity. Constant connectivity, as described in Chapter One, is linked to job stress.

Therefore, the theoretical concept of telepressure is one that engenders stress because it fosters

employees’ desires to be constantly connected in order to build relationships and manage their

reputations (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Telepressure is problematic in and of itself because it

creates the need to be constantly connected even when that constant connection gives rise to

stress. The theoretical background to understand how telepressure becomes amplified is

described by the concept known as the cycle of responsiveness, which is explored in the next

section.

Cycle of Responsiveness

In the previous sections, the theories of social influence and telepressure were described

in order to explain the theoretical foundations behind the practical problem of constant

connectivity. This section will provide an account of how telepressure is amplified. This

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account is summarized by Perlow’s (2012) concept called the cycle of responsiveness. Perlow

(2012) introduced the cycle of responsiveness to depict the amplification of pressure to be

constantly connected that is borne out of individual action. According to Perlow (2012), the

cycle’s genesis is rooted in a legitimate business request. This request might come in the form of

an email from a colleague in a different time zone that requests a specific piece of information,

for example. The receiver of the email would then respond in order to be viewed as responsive,

and thus, effective (Perlow, 2012). The next component of the cycle is shaped by the receiver

altering his or her schedule in order to be able to respond (Perlow, 2012). This component of the

cycle entails the receiver giving precedence to email communication over other activities in his

or her life. In the next component of the cycle, the frequency of communication increases

(Perlow, 2012). This takes place because the receiver wishes to be perceived as responsive and

alters his or schedule accordingly, fostering colleagues’ and clients’ beliefs that it is acceptable

to make requests because they know that the receiver will respond (Perlow, 2012). In this

component of the cycle, the receiver considers all requests, whether urgent or not, worthy of

immediate attention because he or she wishes to continue the perception that he or she is

responsive (Perlow, 2012). The desire to be perceived as responsive gives rise to the next

component of the cycle, which is the culture of responsiveness whereby employees become so

consumed with being perceived as responsive that “even if they begin resenting how much work

is spilling into their personal lives, they fail to recognize that they are their worst enemy, the

source of much of the pressure that they attribute to the nature of their business” (Perlow, 2012,

p. 8). This quote suggests that employees play a role in their own amplification of pressure to

stay connected (Perlow, 2012). Perlow’s (2012) argument that employees amplify their own

state of constant connectivity is understood in the context of the cycle of responsiveness. In that

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cycle, employees are initially connected because of a legitimate need, but stay connected because

of their desire to be perceived as responsive. Therefore, they amplify their pressure because they

seek approval of their colleagues and clients.

The desire to be perceived as responsive, and thus effective, within the cycle of

responsiveness speaks directly to Barber and Santuzzi’s (2014) concept of telepressure, in that

employees perceive their email behavior as linked to their reputation. As described in Chapter

One, stress results as a product of constant connectivity from email norms, resulting in poor

health outcomes at an individual level and reduced productivity at an organizational level.

Therefore, the cycle of responsiveness may be partially culpable for job stress. Given that stress

is the outcome associated with constant connectivity driven by email norms, it is necessary to

explore the theoretical foundation of stress as it relates to email.

Technostress

The previous sections of this Capstone that postulated the theoretical foundations that

demonstrate why individuals adopt normative behaviors of groups can be found in Kelman’s

(1958) process of identification. Further, the concept of telepressure is similar to the process of

identification in that both entail individuals adopting behavior in an attempt to build

relationships. Telepressure is unique in that it can support an understanding of constant

connectivity because it speaks directly to the processes of building relationships and maintaining

one’s reputation through availability and responsiveness to email communication (Barber &

Santuzzi, 2014). The concept known as the cycle of responsiveness amplifies telepressure.

Given that stress is the outcome of this behavior, it is important to take a closer examination

from a theoretical standpoint.

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The concept of stress was detailed in Chapter One by explaining both what it is and how

the human body reacts to it. This section of the Capstone elucidates the specific role that

technology plays in generating stress by examining the concept of technostress, which was

introduced by Brod (1984). As described in the Literature Review, Brod (1984) hypothesized

that technostress was a unique type of stress that took shape when an individual was unable to

manage computer technologies in a healthy fashion. Additionally, technotress can be further

explored by the two different ways in which it manifests. The first manifestation of technostress

takes place when individuals reject technological advances, whereas the second manifestation

takes place when individuals overidentify with technology (Brod, 1984). The focus of this

section is the manifestation of technostress that takes place when individuals overly identify with

technology, and in this case, the technological offering that is email.

According to Brod’s (1984) theory that technostress takes place when individuals overly

identify with technology, the occurrence of employees overly identifying with technology proves

problematic and stress inducing because employees are expected to work at the pace of

technology. The rationale for believing that employees can work at the pace of technology is

derived from their over-identification with it (Brod, 1984). As a result, deadlines for completion

are expected sooner, resulting in stress outcomes, both physically and mentally (Brod, 1984).

Brod’s (1984) argument that technology has increased the pace at which employees are expected

to work speaks broadly to the overarching phenomenon that is technology related stress. When

narrowed down to the application of email specifically, the argument that technostress results

from increased pace holds true when considering shifting views regarding acceptable response

times as described in Chapter One. Therefore, the concept of technostress serves as the

theoretical foundation for email-related stress. The broad and overarching concept of

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technostress has sub-concepts that provide a more detailed theoretical basis of email overload

and work-life conflict because of constant connectivity. The theoretical basis for email overload

is summarized by the concept of techno-overload (Tarafdar et al., 2007). Similarly, the

theoretical basis for work-life conflict as a product of constant connectivity is called techno-

invasion (Tarafdar et al., 2007).

Techno-Overload

Tarafdar et al. (2007) introduced the concept of techno-overload to “describe situations

where ICTs force users to work faster and longer” (p. 315). Technology’s impact on employees’

perception that they must work faster speaks directly to Brod’s (1984) argument that employees’

over-identification with technology results in the perception that human beings must be able to

work at the same pace of technology. This broad view of technology driving the need to work

more quickly and for longer periods can be aptly described in the context of email, particularly

email overload. Email overload proves problematic for employees because it interrupts

workflow can cause the workday to be extended (Barley et al., 2011).

In their study of how overload exists in the context of email, Barley et al. (2011)

contended that users develop the perception that email creates the need to work longer for

several reasons. The first reason is because it creates additional work due to its ease at which

tasks are pushed onto employees (Barley et al., 2011). In this scenario, employees are compelled

to address an onslaught emails which represent tasks to accomplish, thus driving the need to

work longer in order to finish those tasks (Barley et al., 2011). The second reason that email

overload causes stress is it interrupts employees when trying to accomplish other tasks

(Whittaker & Sidner, 1996). Mark, Gonzalez and Harris (2005) described this phenomenon as

work fragmentation. Work fragmentation can be beneficial to a certain extent in that it provides

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an opportunity for employees to refresh ideas by forcing employees to move from one task to

another (Mark et al., 2005). However, excessive interruptions are problematic because they

necessitate the expenditure of time in order to restart the original task and become reoriented

with the objectives of that task (Mark et al., 2005). Thus, the increased expenditure of time it

takes to resume tasks results in lengthening of the workday. Email overload also causes

employees to work faster because of the perceived connection between responsiveness and

reputation. According to Sotillo (2000), the nature of asynchronous communication, such as

email, is not characterized by an instantaneousness nature. Rather, the nature of asynchronous

communication provides the recipient of the message flexibility when determining when to

respond. However, practices such as apologizing for not responding quickly enough, as well as

email escalation embody the increasingly salient viewpoint that email communication

necessitates an immediate response regardless of other priorities, resulting in stress for

employees. Whereas techno-overload speaks broadly to the stress-related outcome with being

overloaded by email, techno-invasion is characterized by technology’s ability to blur the lines

between work and life (Tarafdar et al. 2007).

Techno-Invasion

The concept of techno-invasion aligns directly with the work-life conflict associated with

constant connectivity. Tarafdar et al. (2007) coined the term techno-invasion to describe

“situations where professionals can potentially be reached anywhere at any time and feel the

need to be constantly connected” (p. 116). Techno-invasion results when work-related tasks

bleed into the personal time of employees, such as vacations, in the evenings, or even when an

employee is home on sick leave. The concept of techno-invasion entails the invasion of

employees’ personal lives by their work lives because they are tethered to their devices (Tarafdar

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et al., 2007). Morgan (2003) stated that such conditions represent decreasing respect for

employees’ personal lives. Techno-invasion results in work-life imbalance because even when

employees are not physically at work, they feel as if they can never escape it (Matta, 2015).

Being able to have time away from work is necessary in order to foster employee well-being

(Meijman & Mulder, 1998). The effort recovery model illuminates why time outside of work is

essential to employee well-being.

The Effort Recovery Model

Meijman and Mulder (1998) introduced the effort recovery model in order to explain the

reasons employees need time away from work in order to maximize well-being. This model is

built upon the assumption that when confronted with a workload, employees respond

physiologically or behaviorally (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). The responses that employees

provide represent effort and the exertion of effort is essential in order for that employee to

complete the task (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). That effort represents a departure from a baseline

physiological or behavioral state. During the period of effort expenditure, the sympathetic-

adrenal-medullary system regulates cardiovascular activity (Demerouti, Bakker, Geurts, & Taris,

2009). If the employee is engaged in highly stressful activities, the body may also regulate

through the release of cortisol (Demerouti et al., 2009). In scenarios where employees have

ample time from one period of effort to another, the body returns to its pre-stress level and health

is not at risk of being jeopardized (Demerouti et al., 2009). According to Sonnentag (2001), an

employee whose job requires significant cognitive demands, for example, should engage in non-

work activities that do not require significant cognitive strain in order to facilitate the process of

recovery.

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In this scenario, the key to facilitating recovery is the time to engage in activities that are

not related to his or her employment (Weijman &Mulder, 1998). When employees do not have

ample time between one period of exertion to another, they begin the next period of work

without the body having the opportunity to return to pre-stress levels, resulting in less than

optimal conditions (Demerouti et al., 2009). Working in such conditions necessitates the

expenditure of additional effort in order to compensate for the suboptimal state of the employee

(Demerouti et al., 2009). This scenario represents a deficit of recovery time resulting in

suboptimal working conditions at the individual employee level (Demerouti et al, 2009). Such

conditions require employees to exert additional effort in order to make up for the original deficit

(Demerouti et al., 2009). The state of exerting extra effort to make up for an original deficit

represents a gradual increase in the period during which the employee is not able to recover,

resulting in health outcomes such as fatigue and sleep problems (Demerouti et al., 2009).

In order to avoid this gradual increase, employees require time away from work-

related tasks so that the body can return to the baseline condition (Sonnentag, 2001). This is

known as recovery time (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). Recovery takes place when the workload

stops, and the employee can return to the baseline physiological or behavioral state (Meijman &

Mulder, 1998). The time when employees are not working such as vacations, evenings, and

weekends provides the opportunity for recovery (Sonnentag, 2001). According to the effort

recovery model, the periods of time during which the employee is not engaged in employment

activities are crucial to the health of the employee (van Hooff, Geurts, Kompier, & Tarris, 2007).

The connection between recovery time and improved health is made by the claim that because

the restorative process of returning to the baseline physiological or behavioral condition allows

the immune system to regenerate, employees who have recovery time may have stronger

46


immune systems and are better able to fight illness (van Hooff et al., 2007). Conversely, a lack

of recovery time causes the employee to remain in the behavioral or physiological state of work,

extending periods of exertion, resulting in compromised immune systems, and thus, poor health.

The effort recovery model provides a framework for understanding why employees need

time away from work activities in order to remain healthy. When one juxtaposes the need for

recovery with the phenomenon of constant connectivity, it becomes clear that constant

connectivity threatens the recovery process (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). From an email overload

perspective, constant connectivity threatens the recovery process because it represents a never-

ending task list of items to accomplish. From a work-life balance perspective, constant

connectivity threatens the recovery process because it entails employees using the time that

should facilitate recovery in order to continue work-related tasks. The excessive use of email via

constant connectivity can impede recovery (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). An inability to recover

from work-related activities prolongs effort expenditure, resulting in a diminished immune

system, and ultimately, negative health outcomes (van Hooff et al., 2007).

Chapter Two Conclusion

Organizational norms that encourage constant email connectivity drive poor health at an

individual level, resulting in reduced productivity at an organizational level. This chapter

provided the theoretical framework for the components within that argument. Kelman’s (1958)

processes regarding social influence provide insight into why individuals adopt specific

behaviors. Similarly, the concept of telepressure provides insight into how individuals are

influenced by normative group behavior specifically in the context of email use. Perlow (2012)

described how pressure to remain connected to work email is amplified through the cycle of

47


responsiveness. Stress is the outcome that takes form when employees are engrossed with

telepressure and the cycle of responsiveness. The theoretical foundation for email-related stress

outcomes is found in Brod’s (1984) theory of techno-stress. Tarafdar et al. (2007) also

introduced the concepts of techno-overload and techno-invasion, which provide the larger

theoretical context to understand the problems of email overload and work-life conflict,

respectively. Finally, the effort recovery model explains why time away from work-related

activities is so crucial to employee health and therefore productivity (Meijman & Mulder, 1998).

Hence, the connection between organizational norms around email use and reduced

organizational productivity is found in the argument that constant connectivity impedes the

recovery process. In order to resolve the problems of poor health outcomes and reduced

organizational productivity, it is essential to address the root of the problem, the organizational

norms that give rise to constant connectivity.

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Chapter Three: Shifting Email Norms to Mitigate Stress and its Associated Outcomes

Organizational norms that drive constant connectivity can create inadvertent and adverse

impacts including poor health outcomes and reduced organizational productivity. While the

problem of constant connectivity is widely recognized within media outlets, it is not widely

addressed within organizations. In fact, according to a 2012 survey of 332 HR professionals that

was conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), only 21% had a

formal policy that limited employees’ work-related communication during non-work hours.

Further, only 26% of respondents of the same sample stated that their organizations provide

informal guidance to employees regarding work-related communication during non-working

hours (SHRM, 2012). While the problem of constant connectivity may not be one that is

addressed widely across organizations, it has been addressed by at least two large multinational

organizations, Volkswagen and BCG.

Chapter Three will review how both Volkswagen and BCG went about addressing the

problem of constant connectivity, each by different means. Ultimately, this chapter argues that

the format that BCG used in order to assuage the problems associated with constant connectivity

is preferable to Volkswagen’s because it gets to the root of the constant connectivity:

organizational norms. Further, this chapter entails an examination of normative re-educative

strategy as a process to foster normative changes around constant connectivity. This chapter will

then provide concrete and actionable recommendations that HR professionals can take in order to

utilize normative re-educative strategy in order to change the norms that give rise to constant

connectivity within organizations.

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Volkswagen’s Approach to Addressing Constant Connectivity

The Volkswagen approach to the problem of constant connectivity was intended to help

employees to segment their work and home lives (Tsukayama, 2011). Volkswagen took action

to address this goal by shutting down the email servers of employees thirty minutes after the end

of an employee’s shift and not turning it on again until thirty minutes prior to the beginning of

the employee’s next shift (Tsukayama, 2011). Therefore, employees were physically unable to

read or send emails during non-working periods. In taking this move, Volkswagen employees

would, in theory, have increased ability to engage in the recovery process described by Meijman

and Mulder (1998) because they would not be able to access their email, even if they wanted to

do so.

The method that Volkswagen took to address constant connectivity represents an

incremental change. Incremental change entails making adjustments to existing practices

(Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009). Such change does not consist of changing the values, or

norms, that give rise to the need for change (Palmer et al., 2009). Rather, by disabling servers,

the approach that Volkswagen took was one that did not concentrate on changing normative

behavior, but addressed the physical tools that allowed for constant connectivity. Volkswagen’s

step to address constant connectivity may have disabled the system that allowed for the practice

to exist, but did not challenge the norms driving the practice.

Boston Consulting Group’s Approach to Addressing Constant Connectivity

BCG’s approach to solving constant connectivity was decidedly different from that of

Volkswagen. Important to note is that BCG’s approach to solving the problem of constant

connectivity was introduced to that firm by Perlow (2012) who sought to understand how

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regulating connectivity would impact BCG through a social experiment. Perlow (2012)

introduced the concept of PTO to one six-person team at BCG as a part of a social experiment.

Because of its success, PTO practices then spread to over nine hundred teams throughout BCG’s

global employee population, representing one successful attempt to solve the complex problem

of constant connectivity (Perlow, 2012).. The process of solving this complex problem was one

that was based on changing normative behavior, rather than disabling accessibility.

Perlow’s (2012) solution, which was documented in her book Sleeping With Your

Smartphone, was crafted in order to break the cycle of responsiveness. Important to note is the

unit for which the solution is based is a team. Perlow (2012) argued that the key to breaking

the cycle of responsiveness, which fosters constant connectivity and results in poor health

outcomes and reduced productivity, was found in two complementary practices that allow

employees to unplug without the fear of being judged by their colleagues and customers as

unresponsive and therefore ineffective. The first practice is that of creating a team-based

collective goal of PTO (Perlow, 2012). PTO was a concept that allowed employees to take time

off from work in the evenings by unplugging from work-related communication, including email

(Perlow, 2012). In order to take time off in the evenings, scheduling the nights that each team

member was off was essential. Being straightforward and communicative about which

employees were off on which nights of the week helped members of the team manage their

expectations regarding responsiveness outside of work (Perlow, 2012). In this regard, PTO

sought to mitigate the practical implications of techno-overload and techno-invasion.

The collective goal for the initial six-person team at BCG was for everyone on the team

to enjoy one night off per week, and each person had a different night off. Being off from work

entailed not answering emails or performing any other work-related activities. Perlow (2012)

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argued that creating a collective goal regarding nights off was more effective than each person

creating an individual goal for two reasons. The first reason was accountability. Perlow (2012)

contended that because BCG had such a hard-working and hard-driving culture, employees

would minimize their personal goals in favor of work activity unless they were held publicly

accountable for those goals. The second reason that creating a collective goal, rather than

individual goals, was important was based on Perlow’s (2012) assumption that those who did not

follow through on actually taking their night off would trivialize the practices, and thus, erode

team confidence in the entire concept of PTO. Therefore, creating a shared goal that every team

member believed in and internalized was the first essential ingredient to the success of the

practice of PTO at BCG.

The second practice, which is complementary to that of creating a collective goal, was

that of structured dialogue (Perlow, 2012). Structured dialogue took the form of an initial

kickoff meeting followed by weekly team check-in meetings (Perlow, 2012). The kickoff

meeting provided the format for team members to discuss what team norms would look like in

the context of PTO (Perlow, 2012). In their discussion of team norms, group members had the

opportunity to share what they expected from themselves and each other regarding accessibility

(Perlow, 2012). In sharing their viewpoints, group members discussed normative behavior and

had the opportunity explicitly communicate expectations (Perlow, 2012). By spelling out the

expectation that group members were not supposed to check or respond to email communication

on their nights off, the cycle of responsiveness could be broken because of the collective

acknowledgement that when an employee had the night off, they genuinely had the night off and

were not expected to engage in work-related activities via email.

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The explicit communication of organizational norms via structured dialogue was a crucial

ingredient to the success of breaking the cycle of responsiveness because it made expectations

clear. This ingredient draws upon the notion that individuals conform to organizational norms.

Where the concept of telepressure draws upon Kelman’s (1958) processes of identification by

increasing employees’ connectivity activities in order to build relationships with peers, PTO

fostered a group belief that not being connected was a socially acceptable practice. Therefore,

the normative behavior of not being connected (for at least one night per week) was encouraged,

rather than discouraged. The normative behavior was anchored in practice, helping employees to

internalize the benefit of not being constantly connected. In addition to the kickoff meeting,

weekly team meetings provided the format for structured dialogue where team members could

set the schedule for PTO for the following week, discuss challenges, and provide support

(Perlow, 2012). The practice of PTO also fostered better planning (Perlow, 2012). Because

PTO was built upon the practice of scheduling when each member of the team was expected to

unplug, it necessitated planning in advance of each person’s night off so if there were certain

tasks or requests that needed to happen on an employee’s night off, the group had to engage in

planning rather than addressing on-the-spot requests (Perlow, 2012). BCG teams also devised

coverage plans so that there was minimal disruption to client requests during PTO (Perlow,

2012). When the person who was covering the employee on PTO did not have an immediate

answer to a question or request, he or she would then compose an email response stating that he

or she would have to do some research in order to respond fully and then provided a timeframe

for when to expect the answer (Perlow, 2012). Perlow (2012) contends that the practice of PTO

was unknown to clients until it was intentionally revealed to them, proving that they did not

perceive any disruption due to PTO. Therefore, PTO enabled employees to take necessary time

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off while simultaneously providing continuous service to employee requests (Perlow, 2012).

The success of PTO in meeting client expectations while allowing for time off in order to engage

in the recovery process was the result of the two-part formula which consisted of creating

collective goals and coupling those goals with structured dialogue.

The combination of collective goals and structured dialogue represent what Perlow

(2012) described as small and doable changes. These small changes constitute action anchored

in normative behavior that challenged the belief that in order to be effective, employees need be

both accessible and respondent at all times (Perlow, 2012). While such steps are small, they also

represent a challenge to the status quo of constant connectivity (Perlow, 2012). Team members

who challenged the status quo were empowered to reclaim their personal time and engage in

non-work activities that were meaningful to them. In reflecting on the effort recovery model, one

could argue that PTO fosters increased employee well-being because it promotes greater periods

of time during which employees can engage in the recovery process. Given the linkage between

individual health and organizational productivity that was described in the first chapter, it could

further be argued that practices such as PTO bolster organizational productivity because they

foster greater levels of employee health and well-being by allowing for employees to engage in

the effort recovery model described by Meijman and Mulder (1998).

Arguments Against PTO Practices

The practice of PTO is one that seeks to break the cycle of responsiveness through the

complementary steps of creating team-goals regarding team member time off and also creating

structured dialogue where norms are explicitly spelled out and agreed upon (Perlow, 2012).

While this formula may seem straightforward and beneficial to employee groups, Perlow (2012)

54


conceded that it was often met with objection when introduced to other employee groups as the

practice began to spread throughout BCG. Those objections were embodied by claims that the

practice is not possible, not wanted, or will result in additional burden (Perlow, 2012). Perlow

(2012) contended that resistance to the change was a natural response because PTO represented a

change in how work was accomplished. In fact, many changes within employee populations are

initially met with resistance (Palmer et al., 2009). This resistance was largely assuaged when

employees recognized that PTO had tangible benefits (Perlow, 2012). Further, employees could

engage in PTO and remain effective in their roles (Perlow, 2012). Further, controls were built

into BCG email systems in order to normalize email practices around PTO (Perlow, 2012). Such

controls consisted of email prompts that reminded senders within BCG when recipients were not

available to respond (Perlow, 2012). These controls not only minimized email traffic, but also

fostered greater face-to-face conversation because messages that were not sent the evening

before were often delivered in person the next morning (Perlow, 2012). Therefore, while

resistance is a natural response to change, including the change that the practice of PTO

represented, the benefits associated with the practice worked to diminish the impact of that

resistance.

Adopting the BCG Approach

The BCG approach to battling constant connectivity gets to the root of the culture of

constant connectivity: organizational norms. Further, because BCG teams were able to

communicate their norms around connectivity, each team member was completely aware of the

expectations regarding his or her behavior and the behavior of others regarding email use. This

practice stands in contrast to Volkswagen’s approach because while BCG examined and

55


corrected the normative behavior that gave rise to the problem of constant connectivity, it

appears that Volkswagen sought to solve the problem of constant connectivity without

addressing the normative behavior that caused its existence. Volkswagen turned off the servers

at the end of the shift, seeking to fight the symptom of the problem, but not necessarily the root.

One could, therefore, argue that the BCG approach is more holistic. This Capstone posits that

the holistic approach of examining and correcting the email norms that cause constant

connectivity is the preferable approach. Changing organizational norms is not an easy

undertaking (Jones, 1998). Normative re-educative strategy provide a framework for facilitating

that shift.

Normative Re-Educative strategy

The connection between organizational norms that drive constant connectivity, leading to

stress, poor health, and diminished organizational productivity was established in the first

chapter. In order to address this problem holistically, it is necessary to resolve the underlying

norms that underpin the presenting issues. As stated in the previous section, BCG was able to

address the problem of constant connectivity through their practice of PTO. This practice

fostered dialogue around email norms and scheduled time off. This particular practice was

unique to BCG, but it can be argued that the holistic approach taken by that organization is one

that other organizations can mirror. Changing organizational norms is possible, albeit

challenging (Jones, 1998). Further, working to change organizational norms is a worthy

undertaking in the context of constant connectivity given the linkage between constant

connectivity, stress, poor health and reduced organizational productivity.

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Normative re-educative strategy provides one course of action in order to do so.

According to Palmer et al. (2009), normative re-educative strategy facilitates change by changing

attitudes and values. Nickols (2010) proposed that there are underlying assumptions that must be

considered to understand fully how normative re-educative strategy can facilitate change. One of

the key assumptions that underpins the success of normative re-educative strategy is the belief

that people are social and want to be accepted by others (Nickols, 2010). George and Jones

(2000) echoed this assumption by arguing that organizational norms differ from formalized rules

in that they are not written down or strictly enforced. Instead, organizational norms are less

formal and not necessarily spoken, but are understood as a means by which the dominant group

operates (Jones, 1998). Because people are social and want to be accepted, they will adopt the

dominant behavior of the group in order to fit in (Nickols, 2010). This assumption mirrors

Kelman’s (1958) process of identification insofar that it speaks to individuals crafting their

individual behavior in order to build relationships. According to Bennis et al. (1984), change can

occur when individuals change their attitudes and values, rather than just their practices. The

change in attitudes and beliefs entails an alteration, or re-education, of the group-wide values that

give rise to particular practices, in this case, constant connectivity (Bennis et al., 1984).

Bicchieri and Mercier (2014) supported this claim with their argument that in order to change

specific behaviors, it is often necessary to change or shift the attitudes that support those

behaviors. In shifting attitudes, organizational norms shift, which can, in turn, impact

organizational effectiveness (Jones, 1998). Therefore, changing attitudes and beliefs can change

organizational norms, which will can impact success.

The process of changing attitudes and beliefs, the basis for normative behavior, must be

a group-wide, rather than individually-based engagement (Bicchieri & Mercier, 2014). The

57


rationale for taking a group-wide, rather than individual, approach to shifting attitudes is based

on Bicchieri and Mercier’s (2014) argument that shifting norms is a collective action because of

the concept of stigma. Specifically, because organizational norms constitute shared beliefs

regarding how the group should operate, those individuals who stray from the norm can be

stigmatized (Bicchieri & Mercier, 2014). In order to remove the stigma associated with not

abiding by a norm, the shift cannot merely happen at an individual level (Bicchieri & Mercier,

2014). Buy-in to the newly established norm must occur at the group level.

The concept of buy-in is rooted in dialogue (Palmer et al., 2009). Specifically, buy-in is

achieved when a proposed change is explicitly discussed. The content of the discussions that

need to take place in order for buy-in to occur include not only identifying the proposed change,

but also addressing why the proposed change is important, what the costs of the change entail,

and detailing the process for change (Palmer et al., 2009). Further, it is imperative that the

benefits of the proposed change are outlined (Palmer et al., 2009). The focus on dialogue as a

means to gain buy-in around shifting attitudes and therefore norms is echoed by Bicchieri and

Mercier (2014), who contended that discussion and deliberation are essential to changing

organizational norms.

The act of discussing and deliberating a proposed shift is key because it compels group

members to make explicit what was once considered unspoken (Bicchieri & Mercier, 2014).

Because norms are unofficial and often unspoken rules that govern group members’ behavior,

there is often little dialogue around their formation as they often arise on an informal basis

(Jones, 1998). Jones (1998) argued that while many organizational norms increase

organizational effectiveness, groups are often plagued by norms that reduce it. Group members,

by having conversations about the value of organizational norms, have the opportunity to

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explicitly communicate what normative behavior should look like as it pertains to email use. In

this sense, group members have the opportunity to shape norms by crafting expectations and then

dialoguing about those expectations (Bicchieri & Mercier, 2014). For this reason, the structured

dialogue feature of PTO is crucial. Given the linkage between the norms that drive constant

connectivity leading to stress, poor health and reduced organizational productivity, it can be

argued that a shift in email norms can drive positive results. Specifically, shifting norms so that

individuals do not feel compelled to be constantly connected can foster a reduction in stress,

leading to better health, and greater productivity.

Chapter Three Conclusion

Because organizational norms drive constant connectivity, resulting in stress, health and

productivity implications, HR practitioners should work to shift the norms that give rise to those

issues. Volkswagen and BCG approached the problem of constant connectivity differently. This

Capstone argues that the BCG approach was more holistic in that it sought to shift normative

behavior through the practice of PTO. PTO was so effective for BCG because it married

collective goal-setting around unplugging to structured dialogue. The component of structured

dialogue proved crucial not only because it entailed scheduling when employees could unplug,

but also because it drew out norms and expectations, which compelled employees to understand

a need to shift in those norms (Perlow, 2012). Although this practice was specific to BCG, this

Capstone argues that a similar shift can take place in other organizations and the

Recommendations section provides suggestions on how this shift can take place.

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Recommendations

The three-part recommendation that this Capstone provides is built upon changing the

normative behavior that gives rise to the problem of constant connectivity. These

recommendations are intended to complement each other. The primary audience for these

recommendations is HR professionals who are invested in addressing the problems associated

with constant connectivity, namely stress, poor health, and reduced organizational productivity.

These recommendations are intended to shift norms and anchor those norms in concrete and

actionable practices. The first recommendation entails assessing whether or not there is

readiness for change via a stakeholder analysis. If readiness for change is established, the second

recommendation is to use normative re-educative strategy modeled after Perlow’s (2012) work

with BCG. The third recommendation is to build an alliance for support of this proposed change.

The alliance of support that is recommended is one that consists of HR teams partnering with

employees and leadership. Finally, this recommendation section considers the costs and benefits

associated with shifting normative behavior around constant connectivity.

Diagnosing Readiness and Necessity of Change

The first chapter of this Capstone argued that the organizational norms that drive constant

connectivity could lead to stress. Resulting from stress are poor health outcomes at an individual

level and reduced productivity at an organizational level. Therefore, the key argument of this

Capstone is that in order to mitigate these unfavorable outcomes, it is necessary to shift the

norms that drive them. However, before beginning the work to shift such norms, a pre-change

audit of readiness is recommended. Palmer et al. (2009) argued that such an audit could provide

insight into the likely outcome of a proposed change. One method to engage in a pre-change

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audit is the stakeholder analysis (Palmer et al., 2009). In this scenario, stakeholders are

employees of organizations that face problems regarding constant connectivity. Further,

stakeholders in the context of the change are those who have the ability to affect the success of

the change (Palmer et al., 2009). The stakeholder analysis is a framework that identifies

stakeholders, assesses their ability to influence changes, their history of adapting to change, their

interest in change, and their position on the proposed change (Palmer et al., 2009). The

stakeholder analysis can provide insight into whether or not there is a readiness for change to

occur (Palmer et al., 2009). If readiness for change is present, the recommendation is then to use

normative re-educative strategy and to couple that approach with Perlow’s work around PTO

practices at BCG (2012).

Normative Re-Educative Strategy Coupled with PTO Practices

Normative re-educative strategy is based on the argument that change occurs when a shift

in belief, attitudes, and norms takes place (Bennis, et al.,1984). In Perlow’s (2012) case study of

BCG, a shift in norms occurred when those norms were drawn out and explicitly stated among

group members. By drawing attention to norms that lead to unfavorable outcomes, such as the

case with constant connectivity, members can engage in dialogue about how and why to shift

those norms. Perlow (2012) argued that the two-part formula of collective goals centered on not

being constantly connected coupled with structured dialogue proved successful for helping

employees of BCG to unplug in the evenings. This Capstone argues that Perlow’s (2012)

recommended formula should be replicated within teams that struggle with constant connectivity

because this formula fosters a shift in norms. This shift engenders a behavior shift because it

destigmatizes unplugging from email. Because employees feel the need to stay constantly

connected in order to win the approval of their peers they amplify their own pressure to

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constantly answer emails, even at the risk of their own increased stress (Barber & Santuzzi,

2014). By shifting the attitude that constant connectivity is synonymous with effectiveness and

therefore acceptance, employees can unplug without the fear of stigmatization or rejection.

The specific recommendations that HR professionals can take in order to model Perlow’s

(2012) recommended formula for success is to first realize that the process of creating a team-

based goal around unplugging, coupled with structured dialogue, needs to start within a team

and, if successful, can then be scaled up. According to Perlow (2012), the small, doable nature

of the two-part formula is what makes it so successful. The two-part formula that helps

employees unplug is not a top-down mandate that requires a significant investment of money

(Perlow, 2012). Rather, the shift in attitude to accepting the act of not constantly checking email

should take place in a piloted format within one team before scaling it up to the rest of the

organization. Next, HR professionals seeking to shift the norms that drive constant connectivity

should work to generate support for this shift within varying levels of the team that ranges from

non-management employees to the more senior employees. Included in that group should be a

team leader who drives the shift by fostering dialogue around the shift in norms. As a team

leader, one should be careful to engage each team member in the process of creating goals

around unplugging, supporting team members when they unplug, and holding members

accountable for not taking time off by asking what barriers existed for them to engage in the

process, and then help them to remove those barriers through planning ahead (Perlow, 2012).

The next step in in this recommendation is to engage in goal-setting. For teams within

BCG, the goal was to take one night per week per person where team members did not engage in

work activities. That goal was appropriate in the context of BCG, but other teams may find that

they have longer periods where they can unplug. The goal should be significant enough for

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teams to feel the benefit of time off, but not so significant that it is unachievable (Perlow, 2012).

Setting a collective goal is based on the idea that individuals on the team view their own PTO as

their responsibility, but that they support each other through dialogue and also through the

process of covering when another employee has time off (Perlow, 2012). Team goals should be

defined in a measurable manner so that it is clear whether they were met (Perlow, 2012).

In addition to collective goal setting, teams should engage in structured dialogue (Perlow,

2012). Structured dialogue can begin with a kickoff meeting and then be followed up by weekly

team meetings (Perlow, 2012). It is during this phase that norms are explicitly stated. In

discussing norms explicitly, team members have the opportunity to draw out the behaviors that

have been implied as acceptable, but likely never formalized. The act of specifying norms helps

to foster recognition of others’ vantage points (Richardson, 1990). Dialoguing about norms

fosters clarity around expectations and in this process, group members are positioned to inform

desired normative behavior that will guide their actions (Bicchieri & Mercier, 2014). The act of

dialoguing encourages a shift in normative beliefs, which are linked to practices. This scenario

where beliefs are shifted represents normative re-educative strategy (Bennis et al., 1984). While

a shift in norms is essential to success, they must be anchored in practice in order to avoid a

conflict between espoused beliefs and actual behaviors (Schwarz, 2006). One way to anchor

norms in practice within the context of PTO is through scheduling. Scheduling time off where

employees are encouraged to not engage in work activities may seem like a relatively simple

process, but it marries the shift in norms to a concrete and actionable practice that is clearly

defined and easily understood (Perlow, 2012).

When success around shifting norms at a team level is achieved, the process of collective

goal setting coupled with structured dialogue can be expanded to other teams throughout the

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organization. Perlow (2012) offered that in order for email norms to shift throughout an

organization, it is necessary to create champions of the change who can espouse the value of

unplugging more. These champions of change are the early adopting team members whose

opinions are influential with other employees (Perlow, 2012). Another tool that facilitates the

adoption of new norms in the context of constant connectivity is that of metrics (Perlow, 2012).

Collecting metrics regarding satisfaction with work-life balance, career sustainability, and

effectiveness before the practice begins and then measuring those values throughout the change

can serve to provide tangible evidence of how not being constantly connected can improve

working conditions and quality of life (Perlow, 2012). Finally, it is imperative to build alliances

around the shift in normative email behavior that are inclusive of employees, HR professionals,

and leadership (Perlow, 2012). Therefore, the third recommendation is to build alliances of

support.

Build Alliances to Support the Shift in Normative Email Behavior

Building alliances around the proposed shift in normative email behavior is essential to

success. HR professionals have a central role to play in this shift and in most change processes

given their role in aligning organizational practices and values (Waterhouse & Lewis, 2004).

Further, HR teams often serve as organizational role models (Bersin, 2015). However, in order

for the proposed shift in organizational norms to take hold, an alliance that expands outside of

HR is necessary. Included in that alliance are the employees who make up the teams that will

engage in the two-part formula of collective goals coupled with structured dialogue. The other

key component within the alliance is that of leadership. Thomas (2015) asserted that leaders

have a unique role to play in helping to shift attitudes around constant connectivity. This role

should be anchored by their actions, creating alignment between espoused beliefs and actual

64


behaviors. Perlow (2012) recognized that creating buy-in within leadership may involve

resistance. In order to relieve that resistance, HR teams should make the business case for a shift

in norms anchored in practice. When making the business case, HR practitioners should engage

with leaders in order to make the case regarding a maximization of the return on human capital

investment (Dcamp, 2003). In this scenario, a maximization of human capital investment can be

made by fostering stress reduction vis-à-vis a re-education of normative behavior regarding

email activity. By making the case that constant connectivity driven by organizational norms

can result in increased levels of stress, poor health, and reduced organizational productivity, HR

practitioners can effectively make the case for a shift in normative email behavior and thus,

engage with leadership in building an alliance around shifting those norms.

Cost Implications

There are no major monetary cost implications associated with the aforementioned

recommendations. However, there are time costs associated with conducting a stakeholder

analysis, piloting re-educative strategies modeled by Perlow (2012), and garnering support for a

shift in email norms among HR professionals, employees, and leadership teams. Those time

costs will vary from one organization to the next. While this investment of time may seem

significant, the result of a normative shift in email behavior can lead to less pressure on

employees to be constantly connected. This alleviation of pressure may result in less stress,

better health, and greater productivity. Therefore, there are long-term benefits to the upfront

investments within this three-part recommendation.

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Capstone Conclusion

Email is a powerful tool of communication that is prevalent throughout the business

community. In its relatively short history, email has grown from a means of communication that

was once restricted to only the U.S. Government to one that is now so widespread that there are

an estimated 4.1 billion email accounts worldwide (Radicati, 2014). Email is easy to use and

accessible in virtually every place due to the proliferation of smartphones and other devices

(Pockock & Skinner, 2013). Because email is so easily accessible, it allows employees to

engage in communication at anywhere and at any time (Mazmanian, 2013). Email’s

accessibility factor engenders the capacity to communicate more rapidly, but it also fosters the

notion that because employees are accessible via email, they are available to engage in work-

related activities at any time, resulting in constant connectivity (MacDonald, 2014). The concept

of constant connectivity is borne out of the technological capacity to connect with other users

coupled with the expectation that because there is an ability to connect, users need be both

available and responsive (Pockock & Skinner, 2013; Mazmanian & Erickson, 2014). This belief

may be largely rooted in organizational norms (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Organizational norms

that foster the belief that employees are available to engage in work-related activity via email at

any time are problematic for employees and organizations (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). From an

individual perspective, employees experience greater stress levels, which result in poor health

outcomes when they are exposed to a ubiquitous stream of email (Kushlev & Dunn, 2014).

Those greater stress levels and worse health outcomes take place because employees who are

constantly engaged in work activities do not allow enough time for the process of effort recovery

to take place, making them more susceptible to illness (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). When

66


employees are ill, they are more likely to engage in practices such as presenteeism and

absenteeism, which have productivity implications for businesses (Stewart et al., 2003).

Therefore, HR practitioners should work to mitigate the stress-related outcomes of constant

connectivity by addressing its genesis: organizational norms. In addressing organizational

norms, HR practitioners should partner with employees and leadership teams to foster healthier

norms around email use. Given that this problem is salient within the business community, but

not widely addressed within the field of HR, it is one that is significant and contemporary.

The practical implications of this problem are evident, but they also have theoretical

frameworks that beget a greater understanding of how and why this problem has taken shape.

One such framework is that of Kelman’s (1958) process for understanding why individuals adopt

behaviors. In Kelman’s (1958) theory of identification, individuals adopt behavior in order to

build relationships. In looking at the adoption of normative group behavior in the context of

email, the concept of telepressure overlaps with Kelman’s (1958) process of identification

insofar that employees adopt email norms of the organization in order to fit in and build

relationships (Barber & Santuzzi, 2014). Perlow (2012) introduced the cycle of responsiveness

as a means to foster a greater understanding as to how telepressure is amplified. What results

from these levels of pressure is a unique type of stress called technostress, introduced by Brod

(1984). Further, the theoretical underpinnings for the practical problem that is work-related

stress can be understood in the effort recovery model (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). In this model,

employees who are exposed to prolonged periods of work do not have enough time to engage in

the recovery process, resulting in worse health.

This Capstone put forth the argument that in order to assuage the issues of stress, poor

health, and reduced organizational productivity that are associated with constant connectivity, it

67


is necessary to shift the norms that drive it. In order to shift those norms, it is recommended that

HR practitioners engage in normative re-educative strategy that seeks to shift the values and

beliefs which give rise to behaviors (Bennis et al., 1984). Perlow (2012) provided a case study

of how BCG was able to encourage a shift in normative email behavior through the practice of

PTO. The effectiveness of PTO was found in its two-part formula. The first part of that formula

entails teams coming together to create collective goals around the time that they would each

have scheduled where they were not engaged in work activities (Perlow, 2012). The second part

of the formula entailed structured dialogue that allowed group members to make clear what their

expectations were around email behavior (Perlow, 2012). Group members had the opportunity

to draw out norms and explicitly state them, making these expectations clear rather than just

relying on unspoken norms (Perlow, 2012).

This Capstone recommended that HR practitioners who wish to address the problems

associated with constant connectivity should do so in a three-part approach. The first component

of that approach is to assess readiness for change via a stakeholder analysis. The second

component of this approach is that, assuming readiness for change is established, HR

practitioners should engage in normative re-educative strategy and couple that normative shift

with practices that are modeled after Perlow’s (2012) practice of PTO. Perlow’s (2012) work

was so effective because the normative shift that took place was one that was anchored in

practice. The third component of this approach is to engage with leadership teams and

employees in order to build an alliance around this proposed normative shift. The intention of

this three-part approach is to mitigate the stress-related outcomes of constant email connectivity

through the crafting of healthy norms around email behavior.

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As previously stated, the recommendations provided within this Capstone are intended

for HR practitioners who wish to address the problems associated with constant connectivity. By

addressing these issues through the three-part approach recommended in this Capstone, HR

practitioners can impact change in normative email behavior. The aim in impacting the proposed

change in normative behavior is to produce tangible benefits in the forms of reduced stress,

better health, and increased productivity. While HR practitioners have an important and

necessary role to play in fostering this change, it is essential to engage with employees and

organizational leadership. This alliance-based effort can assist employees and organizations in

engaging in email behaviors that do not lead to stress, illness, and reduced productivity. Further

research on this topic may be advanced through the scholarship that examines segmentation by

role and industry in order to better understand how constant connectivity impacts employees and

organizations. Additionally, further research may be advanced through the examination of how

constant connectivity and its associated outcomes differ by generation.

69


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