For all those smartphone users out there who are constantly being bombarded with work emails and not just during working hours, but before work and after – it can seem like you’re never away from the office.
Many of us work from 9am until 5pm, but nowadays we find ourselves working longer hours than ever before – worst of all without any extra pay! Whether you’re staying in the office late or not, it probably feels as if work follows you around wherever you go and this can ruin your social life.
But what can you do to stop email ruining your social life?

What is the cause of people’s urge to work out of hours?

The main cause of working out of hours is arguably the smartphone. You can do anything on your phone now, even respond to work emails when you’re not at work. It may seem like a great idea to keep your work email on your phone, but it isn’t. It can become addictive, especially when you are constantly remind that your inbox is filling up. When you see your inbox say ‘9 messages pending’, think how many of those messages are just spam and how many are actual work? Can you resist the urge to have a quick look.

Fight against the urge

The urge is there for many. If you’re someone who deals with clients on a regular basis, then having your email connected to your phone is a great idea – but not when it’s your own personal iPhone. This is where many people go wrong, they link their work email to their personal phone. Then when emails come through, they’re able to answer it quickly. But this is not a healthy habit. Although you may believe that it looks good for you and the company you work for to reply quickly and out of office hours, it doesn’t.
People don’t want to be receiving work emails late at night. Even if they’re like you, if they can’t switch off from work and then end up replying back to you at 11:20pm. It leads to a vicious cycle for you both, fight the urge!

Manage this terrible habit. Fast.

Managing this habit can be difficult, much like trying to manage an addiction – Work addiction!  According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) full time workers in the UK are now working on average 39.2 hours per week. Although CIPD Megatrends found that the proportion of employees working over 45 hours each week has actually fallen from 26% back in 1997 to 20% today.  Working over 40 hours is not acceptable, if you find yourself staying on at work or constantly responding to emails in your spare time then you need to stop.

Don’t mix work with your personal phone

iPhones are extremely handy for browsing the internet, updating social media and checking your email – especially for checking emails.  With an iPhone you are able to connect your inbox to your Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail accounts. Although this is great, it’s a deadly combination, especially if you decide to connect your iPhone’s inbox to your work email.  As soon as you receive an email, your phone will show a new email in your inbox. It’s like having a box placed in front of you and being told not to open it – you always open it!

Disconnect your work email from your personal iPhone

To disconnect your work email from your iPhone, simply click on the mail tab/app. Once you’re in your mail app you’ll either head straight into the inbox or you’ll be presented with a list of your email accounts. If you’re in the ‘all inboxes’ section, then just click ‘Mailboxes’ to see your accounts and then press edit. Here you’ll be able to untick your Hotmail, Outlook, Yahoo or Gmail email accounts so that you no longer receive notifications.

Stop using the company phone at home

At many companies, they have either one or a number of company mobile phones, often smartphones. If you’re on call at the weekend and you are being rewarded for your work, then answering calls and responding to emails can be acceptable. However, if you have the company phone for the weekend because it’s a tool you require for your job, then refrain from answering your emails during your free evenings and weekends. It may be easier said than done, but how can you stop yourself?  You can either turn the phone off at certain points, in the evening, or you could leave the company phone at work, especially if you don’t need to use it because let’s face it, your working day ends at 5pm.

Switch on your out of office email

You most likely have a template at your company that you use when you’re ill or taking some annual leave. But why not use it for when you’ve finished work? It has become quite common now for people to switch on their out of office emails at the end of the day. This is great because technically you’re replying to emails, and just letting them know that you’ll be available to talk in the morning or after the weekend. Maybe even include a line wishing them a happy evening and advising them to enjoy their free time in the evening, like you do!

The equivalent of what you’re doing

Would you pay for a three course meal when you’ve only eaten the starter? No you wouldn’t. How is this relevant? Because you are investing so much of your free time to work, receiving nothing in return. Be persistent and mentally strong. It may be odd at first giving up replying to work emails in your spare time, but you’ll get used to it in no time.
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