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Cited by 6Personal Information Management and User BehaviorTechnostress in Professional SettingsCyberloafing and Workplace Behavior

For whom and under what circumstances does email message batching work?

Open access
Wijngaards, Indy, Pronk, Florie R., Burger, Martijn J.·2022·Internet Interventions
DOI 10.1016/j.invent.2022.100494PMC PMC8897209
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Abstract

Email plays an essential role in organizational communication but can also serve as pertinent source of work interruption and an impediment to well-being. Scholars have proposed email batching, processing emails only at certain times of the day, as a strategy to mitigate the negative consequences of email at work. As empirical evidence is mixed and applications in natural organizational contexts are lacking, we used survey data collected during a quasi-experimental top-down intervention in a Dutch financial services organization to investigate for whom and under what circumstances email batching is effective for reducing email interruptions and ameliorating well-being. We found that participants in the intervention group encountered less email interruptions than participants in the control group. Moreover, email batching reduced emotional exhaustion captured right after the intervention ended, especially for workers dealing with high email volumes and workers believing that instantaneous response was not expected in their organization. The effects of email batching wore off after two weeks and no significant effects on work engagement were found. We conclude that email batching should not be regarded as panacea for enhancing well-being and should only encouraged if it fits with workers' job tasks and organizational expectations regarding email response times more generally.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a quasi-experimental top-down email-batching intervention at a Dutch financial services organization, batching reduced email interruptions and emotional exhaustion right after the intervention, but effects wore off after two weeks and did not improve work engagement. Benefits were stronger for workers with high email volumes and weaker where fast email response was organizationally expected.

Key findings

  • Email batching was associated with marginally fewer daily email interruptions: control group mean = 3.38 (SD = 0.75), intervention group mean = 2.90 (SD = 1.19), t36.20 = −1.82, p = .077, d = 0.51.
  • Email batching significantly reduced emotional exhaustion in the post-test survey (F1,130 = 9.04, p = .003, η2p = 0.06) and follow-up survey (F1,134 = 7.55, p = .007, η2p = 0.05), but regression analyses based on the follow-up difference were nonsignificant (B = −0.11, p = .500), suggesting effects wore off after two weeks.
  • Moderation analyses showed batching was more effective for participants receiving 25+ emails per day and less effective for participants who believed their organization expected quick email responses; email volume and organizational response-time expectations were robust moderators in the full model.
  • No significant effects were found for work engagement in the post-test (F1,130 = 0.14, p = .709, η2p = 0.00) or follow-up survey (F1,134 = 0.33, p = .569, η2p = 0.00).

Methods

  • Quasi-experimental between-subjects intervention in a Dutch financial services organization; teams were assigned by geographic location to intervention or control because randomization risked contamination. Of 112 selected workers, 39 were assigned to control and 73 to intervention; 39 intervention participants were invited to also batch instant messages three times per day.
  • The intervention lasted one month and asked participants to check email in three batches per day; surveys included pre-test, three intermediate weekly surveys, post-test, and a two-week follow-up. Of 112 selected workers, 79 completed the pre-test (71%), 53 completed the post-test, and 57 completed the follow-up.
  • Measures were self-report: daily email interruptions (3 items, α = 0.87–0.90), emotional exhaustion (4 items, α = 0.89–0.94), work engagement (3 items, α = 0.83–0.86), and single-item moderators including preference for multitasking, email volume, and organizational expectations for email response times. Analyses used ANOVA, t-tests, and regression models with gain scores and moderation terms; p < .05 was considered statistically significant.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the single organizational context limits external validity, especially because the study occurred during the coronavirus pandemic when all participants worked mostly from home; effects may not generalize to other organizations, industries, or countries.
  • The paper states that more comprehensive well-being research is needed, including constructs such as flow, state work engagement, state emotional exhaustion, non-work spillover, and multimodal measures beyond questionnaires.
  • The paper states high attrition and self-selection are concerns: participants with high email volume and those perceiving weaker organizational support for delayed responses were underrepresented, so the eventual impact of email batching may be lower than reported. Evident from the text, the regression samples were small (n = 53 and n = 57), and the manipulation check mean was 3.23 on a 1–7 scale with a downward trend across survey waves.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.invent.2022.100494

Cites

92 of 92 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 20 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingown data

    Email batching generally reduced email interruptions.

    “We found that most participants were able to adopt email batching in their daily practice during the experiment and it generally reduced email interruptions.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    The effects of the intervention on emotional exhaustion quickly wore off.

    “Furthermore, we showed that the effects of the intervention on emotional exhaustion quickly wore off, although the majority of participants internalized one or more email batching behaviors after the intervention ended.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    Email batching had a significant effect on the difference between emotional exhaustion measured in the pre-test survey and the post-test survey (Model 1).

    “email batching had a significant effect on the difference between emotional exhaustion measured in the pre-test survey and the post-test survey (Model 1).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    Co-worker expectations and client expectations play an important role in not completing the email batching challenge.

    “We found that not only co-worker expectations but also client expectations play an important role in not completing the email batching challenge”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    When email batching interfered with achieving workers' goal to serve clients well, the email management strategy was perceived as a hindrance rather than a solution.

    “when email batching interfered with achieving workers' goal to serve clients well, the email management strategy was perceived as a hindrance rather than a solution.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 19
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 14

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The most popular aspects were keeping email notifications off (66%) and batching email in blocks (56%).

    “The most popular aspects were keeping email notifications off (66%) and batching email in blocks (56%).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Participants were most satisfied with the guidelines set in the intervention, its usefulness for their jobs, and the communication about the intervention.

    “Participants were the most satisfied with the guidelines set in the intervention (M = 4.97, SD = 0.64), its usefulness for their jobs (M = 4.53, SD = 0.95) and the communication about the intervention (M = 5.44, SD = 0.80)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Participants were least satisfied with the results of the intervention and how easy the intervention was to implement in their daily practice.

    “the least satisfied about the results of the intervention (M = 4.34, SD = 1.15) and how easy the intervention was to implement in their daily practice (M = 4.09, SD = 1.12)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingown data

    Six participants emphasized the importance of aligning organizational expectations regarding internal communication to the intervention guidelines.

    “Six participants emphasized the importance of aligning organizational expectations regarding internal communication to the intervention guidelines”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The analyses did not reveal any significant moderators, except for email batching's interaction with the intensity of the treatment.

    “The analyses did not reveal any significant moderators, except for email batching's interaction with the intensity of the treatment.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Email volume and organizational expectations regarding email response times are robust moderators of the effect of email batching on emotional exhaustion.

    “A model that includes all variables suggests that email volume and organizational expectations regarding email response times are robust moderators (Model 6).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Less popular aspects were reducing overall email time (34%), deciding on email-related norms within the team (22%), and starting the day without email (13%).

    “Less popular were reducing overall email time (34%), deciding on email-related norms within the team (22%) and starting the day without email (13%).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingown data

    Two participants reflected on the vitality of effective delivery of an email batching intervention.

    “Two participants reflected on the vitality of effective delivery of an email batching intervention”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingown data

    Of the eighteen participants who offered concrete suggestions, eight commented on the impetus of considering job tasks when implementing email batching.

    “Of the eighteen participants that offered concrete suggestions, eight commented to the impetus of considering job tasks when implementing email batching”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Email batching should not be regarded as a panacea for enhancing well-being and should only be encouraged if it fits with workers' job tasks and organizational expectations regarding email response times.

    “We conclude that email batching should not be regarded as panacea for enhancing well-being and should only encouraged if it fits with workers' job tasks and organizational expectations regarding email response times more generally.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The more intensive intervention (also batching instant messages) allowed control for the potential confounder of compensating by checking instant messages.

    “The more intensive intervention allowed us to control for this potential confounder in the analyses.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Work pressure mediates the relationship between email interruptions and negative affect.

    “Sonnentag et al. (2018), who found that work pressure mediates the relationship between email interruptions and negative affect.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Sonnentag et al. (2018) source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    Of respondents who filled out both the pre-test and follow-up survey, 84% attended the kick-off session in person, 9% watched the recording, and 7% did neither.

    “Of the respondents who filled out both the pre-test and follow-up survey, 84% of participants attended the kick-off session in person, 9% did not but watched the recording and 7% did neither.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    The intervention was a top-down HR intervention and participants did not self-select into it.

    “in contrast to participants in previous experimental research, participants in our study did not self-select into the email batching intervention. Instead, the treatment was delivered as a top-down HR intervention by the organization itself”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductcitation

    Control variables (age, gender, hours, department) were not statistically significant and were omitted from the presented regression results.

    “We considered age, gender, hours and department as control variables in the regression, but decided to refrain from presenting these results, because no control variables were statistically significant and including nonsignificant control variables unnecessarily reduces degrees of freedom (Bernerth et al., 2018).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bernerth et al., 2018

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Without appropriate norms in the organization and without email being a considerable stressor at work, it is unlikely that an email batching intervention will change behaviors or improve worker well-being.

    “Without the appropriate norms in the organization and without email being a considerable stressor at work, it is unlikely that an email batching intervention will change behaviors or improve worker well-being.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The effectiveness of online message batching depends on individual and contextual factors.

    “This research design allows us to empirically verify the recent theoretical proposition that the effectiveness of online message batching depends on individual and contextual factors (Fitz et al., 2019; Kushlev and Dunn, 2015) and examine whether email batching is also effective in a real-world setting.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Fitz et al., 2019 source
    • cites Kushlev and Dunn, 2015 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    An earlier survey in the host company showed that workers struggled to concentrate in remote offices during the coronavirus pandemic and scored high on a work attention/concentration question (M = 4.08, SD = 0.71).

    “A study among 446 workers in June 2020 showed that workers struggled to concentrate in their remote offices during the coronavirus pandemic and scored very high on the question “My work requires a lot of attention and concentration” (M = 4.08, SD = 0.71) that was answered on a five-point Likert scale (Bakker, 2014)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bakker, 2014

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    Email interruptions lead to the depletion of cognitive resources and trigger negative affective responses.

    “In sum, it can be argued that email interruptions lead to the depletion of cognitive resources and trigger negative affective response.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Email batching has the potential to reduce email interruptions and is more beneficial for well-being than checking online messages continuously.

    “Email batching has the potential to reduce these interruptions, herewith being more beneficial for well-being than checking online messages continuously.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    The internal consistency of the multi-item scales was satisfactory (Cronbach's α > 0.8).

    “The internal consistency of the multi-item scales was considered satisfactory, as Cronbach's α values exceeded 0.8.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Organizational interventions can derail or not completely succeed in various ways, and their successfulness depends not only on the content of the intervention but also on the context it is implemented in.

    “this study highlights that organizational interventions can derail or not completely succeed in various ways and the successfulness of interventions does not only depend on the content of the intervention, but also on the context it is implemented in.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Receiving relatively little email limits the amount of task switching and the pressure on workers' cognitive resources and leads to a small difference between checking email when it comes in as usual and checking email three times a day.

    “Receiving relatively little email will not only limit the amount of task switching and the pressure on workers' cognitive resources but will also lead to a small difference between checking email when it comes in as usual and checking email three times a day.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    For sustainable behavioral change and robust well-being improvements to occur, email batching should be integrated into the culture and core practices of an organization.

    “It is likely that for sustainable behavioral change and robust well-being improvements to occur, email batching should be integrated into the culture and core practices of an organization.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductcitation

    The use of gain scores is justified by the quasi-experimental setup, the moderation analysis, and the research question.

    “The use of gain scores is justified by both the quasi-experimental setup and the use of a moderation analysis (Cribbie and Jamieson, 2000), as well as the main research question at hand: how do the experimental and the control groups differ with regard to changes in emotional exhaustion and work engagement (Fitzmaurice et al., 2012).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Cribbie and Jamieson, 2000 source
    • cites Fitzmaurice et al., 2012

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The discrepancy between the significant omnibus effect and the nonsignificant regression effect on follow-up emotional exhaustion is likely caused by the regression not considering baseline level and having a smaller sample and lower power.

    “We expect that this discrepancy is caused by the fact that, in contrast to the regression analysis, an ANOVA test does not consider the baseline level of the independent variable. In addition, the regression analyses were performed on a smaller dataset (n = 57 vs. n = 136) and therefore may have lacked statistical power.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    There is a degree of self-selection in the quasi-experiment: participants experiencing high email volume and those who feel the organization does not support delayed email response times are underrepresented.

    “It thus seems that there is a degree of self-selection in the current quasi-experiment: participants experiencing a high email volume and participants who feel that the organization does not support delayed email response times are underrepresented in this study.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
27 of 27

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The control group did not change their email checking behavior during the intervention period.

    “Participants in the control group received an introductory email from HR that described that their organization wants to know more about the role of email and IM in the working lives of workers and that they were asked to provide this input.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The intervention and control groups were comparable at baseline on emotional exhaustion, work engagement, email interruptions, and moderators.

    “Prior to the start of the intervention, the HR department assigned teams to ‘intervention’ and ‘control’ conditions based on geographic location, since a randomized experimental setup was impossible due to a risk of contamination.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Geographic separation of teams prevented contamination between intervention and control conditions.

    “Prior to the start of the intervention, the HR department assigned teams to ‘intervention’ and ‘control’ conditions based on geographic location, since a randomized experimental setup was impossible due to a risk of contamination.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The intervention was implemented consistently across teams and participants.

    “The intervention group was introduced to the idea of email batching in an interactive, 1-hour (virtual) kick-off session, hosted by an HR officer and the second author from the organization.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The two-week follow-up period is adequate to assess whether effects of email batching are sustained.

    “Two weeks after the post-test survey, participants were invited for a follow-up survey and received an email in case they did not complete the survey.”

  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Employees are likely to drop out sooner when email batching does not work for them.

    “provided that employees are likely to drop out sooner when email batching does not work for them”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The most plausible reason for high email volume employees to drop out are client-related concerns and existing organizational norms regarding response times.

    “At the same time, the most plausible reason for this group to drop out are client-related concerns and existing organizational norms regarding response times.”
7 of 7

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Motivation item's stated range conflicts with its response scale

    Minor

    The motivation item instructs respondents to give a score between 1 and 10, but its response scale ends at 7.

  • Post-test regression effect is called significant despite its coefficient and standard error

    Minor

    The paper sets statistical significance at p = .05, but Model 1 reports a coefficient of −0.29 with a standard error of 0.16. Their ratio is about 1.81, below the two-sided 5% threshold for this 53-person regression, so the stated significant effect is inconsistent with the table.

  • Moderator measurement schedule differs between prose and table

    Minor

    The measures section says preference for multi-tasking was included in the pre-test and follow-up surveys, whereas Table 1 lists the pre-test and post-test surveys. The same schedule conflict appears for email volume and organizational expectations.

3 of 3

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Fitzmaurice, 2012, Vol. 998
  2. Maslach, 1986, Vol. 21
  3. Schaufeli, 2001, Utrechtse burnout schaal (UBOS) psychodiagnostisch gereedschap, De Psycholoog, 36, 9

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Wijngaards, I., Pronk, F. R., & Burger, M. J.
Affiliations
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
  • Open University of the Netherlands (NL)
Corresponding author
Burger, Martijn J.
ORCID
Venue
Internet Interventions
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022-03
Volume
27
Pages
100494
ISSN
2214-7829 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.invent.2022.100494
PMC
PMC8897209
OpenAlex
W4206134946
Semantic Scholar
6f3ccfd7c3a8cc8bba4a7682a375fd326a3113a9
Cited by
6
References
89
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2
FWCI
0.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Internet Interventions (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DSpace (Open University in the Netherlands) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DSpace (Open University in the Netherlands) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (652.001.003)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Personal Information Management and User Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Technostress in Professional Settings
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Cyberloafing and Workplace Behavior
Keywords
employee well-being, emotional exhaustion, work engagement, top-down intervention, financial sector employees, work interruptions

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