# How often do you check your work email? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246 "2015-12-12T15:42:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/1 "2015-12-12T15:42:45Z")
My pet peeve at work is when someone assumes that if I they have sent me an email I have read it immediately. I don’t define my job as consisting of reacting to other people’s emails. I want email to be a tool for me, rather me a slave to it. I certainly read emails but spend a lot of time in meetings, talking to people, writing, doing analysis. That’s where the real work gets done. To me email is a way to communicate information that is not as easily communicated in other ways, or for asynchronous communication that is not critically time-sensitive. The worst is when someone sends me a meeting invitation 10 minutes before the meeting starts. That happened yesterday, and I didn’t see the notice until the meeting was over. That prompted me to ask this question. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/2 "2015-12-12T15:53:34Z")
My attitude is that e-mail is a non-critical medium. If you need me to know something or do something right now you’ll call me, talk to me in person, or send a text/instant message ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/3 "2015-12-12T16:21:40Z")
So far, I am the lone voter for the last option: > [@](#): > > I have an email alarm on my smartphone and check work email 24/7 I am in charge of maintenance and repair for our largest, and most lucrative, client. When my email alert sounds, I at least check the subject line for priority. ---
**Author:** ![BigBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@BigBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/4 "2015-12-12T16:25:32Z")
Email should be checked at least once per day. Any message more critical should use a different medium. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/5 "2015-12-12T16:27:47Z")
Outlook lets me know when I get a new email at work. Just a quick pop up. So… at work I basically check it constantly. If the pop up looks important, I’ll check it out. Otherwise, don’t bother with it until later. I only get 10 or so emails a day, so it’s not an issue. If I am away from work, I may check it once a day. Or not. Depends on how smoothly things have been going. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/6 "2015-12-12T17:26:18Z")
Presumably it varies by job. I’m a lawyer, and I check it constantly. Communication is a big part of my real work, very often by email. Email is essential to me for circulating draft documents for review or for distributing or receiving urgent items as part of a group of people at once. Cases and projects percolate along at different rates, so it’s not unusual to have to shift priorities when something new comes in. In the evening, it’s sometimes useful for communicating with the West Coast, or for passing along stay thoughts to relevant colleagues if something important occurs to me after hours. Finally, it’s embedded in certain parts of our office culture. My director rarely calls on the phone, because with so many demands on his time, email is much faster. But he’s my boss, so what’s asynchronous to him may still be high-priority for me. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/7 "2015-12-12T18:32:26Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I only get 10 or so emails a day, so it’s not an issue. I get 100-200 emails a day. About 10% of those require a response from me. I use Outlook and have set conditional formatting rules so my boss’s emails are big bold and red. And if I’m the only person on the To line then it’s big bold and blue. Everything else I get to when I can. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/8 "2015-12-12T20:37:35Z")
The busier I am, the more I rely on setting out two blocks of time. During slower times, or if I’m expecting something in particular, I do check it more often. A lot of the e-mails I get are relatively time-sensitive. For example, if I get an e-mail that a client’s payroll tax payment has bounced, I only have about three hours to take action on it. My e-mail is a shared inbox and my office manager is the one checking on a regular basis to make sure priority e-mails get dealt with right away. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/9 "2015-12-13T00:39:34Z")
I check my email a few times a month and get about 500 junk emails per visit. It gives me a headache so I avoid checking it any more than a few times a month. My work doesn’t rely on email communication. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/10 "2015-12-13T01:29:33Z")
One of the things I am known for is getting back to you with a reply for your email- fast. But once I leave work- nope. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/11 "2015-12-13T01:56:11Z")
Ever since they took away our IM client, email is the way most of the communication takes place around here. I have two monitors, and one has nothing but Outlook on it. I never stop checking email. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/12 "2015-12-13T02:30:41Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Outlook lets me know when I get a new email at work. Just a quick pop up. So… at work I basically check it constantly. If the pop up looks important, I’ll check it out. Otherwise, don’t bother with it until later. Likewise. 90% of my time at work, I’m at my desk and so see the pop-up when a mail comes in. Any time that I’m not at my desk though, I don’t check it at all. I never log in remotely nor do I have any notifications on my (personal) phone. So it’s feast or famine on the email checking front for me. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/13 "2015-12-14T05:26:18Z")
…I’m self employed. Delaying responding to an email could be the difference between a booked client and one lost to the competition. So I do my best to always be monitoring my email and responding immediately if required. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/14 "2015-12-14T05:32:41Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Likewise. 90% of my time at work, I’m at my desk and so see the pop-up when a mail comes in. Any time that I’m not at my desk though, I don’t check it at all. I never log in remotely nor do I have any notifications on my (personal) phone. So it’s feast or famine on the email checking front for me. Yep. If I’m working at my desk, I’ll see emails (not to say that I’ll necessarily read them) immediately. If I’m away from my desk, I’ll see the emails when I get back to my office. I spend a lot of time in the field and/or traveling. If I have a connection, I’ll spend some time going through emails at the end of the day. When I go somewhere with an iffy connection, I’ll set up an auto-reply and pretty much ignore anything that isn’t critical until I get back. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/15 "2015-12-14T05:59:03Z")
I work for myself. My phone chimes when I get an email. I always check it asap. Usually emails don’t require an immediate responce, so I’ll wait till I’m at a computer to respond. I’m prone to typos on my phone. Email is still a new concept for many I work with… phone calls still make up the majority of my communications. I answer my phone 24/7/365. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/16 "2015-12-14T06:28:06Z")
I’m supporting sites in all US time zones so I’ll at least check when my phone alerts me that I have a new email. Sometimes I’ll go to the computer to respond immediately, but usually it’ll wait til I’m back at my desk the next morning. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/17 "2015-12-14T10:50:56Z")
I turned off the email popup notification for HIPAA reasons. Worst thing would be to be giving a presentation to outsiders and have some PHI pop up. Not likely, but possible. My boss says that we are there to work projects, not wrangle emails, so the attitude is, if it’s that bloody critical, someone can walk over or phone. I check emails frequently, but have missed meetings scheduled 10 minutes before they start or “my client needs an answer in 40 minutes” type questions. I do check email outside of work hours — I just checked it this morning at 5:30 am. This is mostly because we have an office in Nepal… ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/18 "2015-12-14T11:50:51Z")
**I check email every few minutes when there is a break in my current activity.** 80% of the emails I get do not require an immediate reaction but the remaining 20% do, so I check my inbox just to make sure that nothing urgent has cropped up. However, if I’m looking at the screen when a pop-up comes up, I rarely resist the urge to see the incoming mail. But, as I said above, most of the times that quick reaction is unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/19 "2015-12-14T12:07:28Z")
Unlike the OP, my job mostly consists of responding to requests delivered via email. Emails come in automatically, I never push a ‘check for new emails’ button. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246/20 "2015-12-14T12:34:45Z")
> [@BigBlue](#): > > Email should be checked at least once per day. > > Any message more critical should use a different medium. Not for me. I spend a good portion of my day away from my office and unable to answer a phone. You want me- send me an email and as soon as I’m free I’ll scan them all and respond based on priority. Voicemails are incredibly inconvenient. Emails have the added benefit of documenting the request/emergency etc. I check it too much, but I find if I don’t things pile up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-check-your-work-email/740246.md?page=2)