Managing late-night work emails with empathy

Clearing my plate at night doesn’t mean I should pile it onto someone else’s. I’ll admit—there were moments when I thought, “If I send this email now, it’s off my list.” But here’s the truth: when I clear my plate late at night or over the weekend, I’m unintentionally putting it onto someone else’s. Leaders often talk about future of work—AI, automation, hybrid, resilience. But here’s a simple, very human truth: 👍Respecting boundaries is part of the future of work too. 👍We all need time to switch off. 👍We all need leaders who don’t just say “take a break,” but actually model it. So now, I ask myself before hitting send: 👉 Can this wait until morning? 👉 Is this urgent—or just my urge to get it off my plate? Last night, I almost slipped. Then I caught myself. Mails are only going out this morning. I’m still learning, still fine-tuning. Because leadership isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being conscious. 👉 “I’m curious — how do you personally set boundaries with late-night or weekend emails? Do you use delayed send, team agreements, or just pure discipline? Let’s share ideas — we might all pick up something new. #Leadership #FutureOfWork #Boundaries #Human #linkedin

It's Sunday night. Are you about to send a work email? Don't. (At least if your company's normal workweek is Monday-Friday! If you work for a company with a work from anywhere anytime policy, that's amazing! This may not apply to you. But in a traditional business with set hours like I've worked in most of my career? Read on.) Before leaving the corporate world earlier this year to launch my own business, I worked in the world of HR for nearly 30 years, leading HR for 25. So I get it. If you are a leader, you can't always shut your laptop at the end of the day Friday and forget about work. But you can try. And if it's not possible, you can help make sure your team has a much needed weekend or evening break. How? If your work hours are all over the place, schedule that email to be sent during normal business hours. It's easy to do in most platforms. (NOTE: This is easiest if your team is in one time zone on roughly the same schedule - it's trickier, but not impossible, to work with each team member's time zone.) You may tell your team it's ok not to respond to emails, or even have a bounceback email that says something like that. But what matters more than intent is impact. The impact of a team leader sending copious amounts of emails during non-work hours can have the unintended consequence of making your team feel like they have to work 24/7. That they have to check their email constantly even when off for a day or a week. And while that may be in some cases, and certainly urgent issues come up from time to time, most of the time it's habit. That feeling of always having to be on is not sustainable to most people - and can and will lead to burnout. We talked about this a lot with the executive team at my last company because my team members felt this deeply from all across the company. As executives we couldn't necessarily always shut off at the end of a day or week. But we could make sure our people did. If we had to be plugged in or wanted to be catching up on email on the weekends, we scheduled our emails to be sent during the workweek. If something came up that was urgent and we needed a team member? We called. It wasn't perfect. But it was something. And it gave my team - who felt comfortable bringing up these concerns - a break. Which gave everyone else who might not have been comfortable saying something a break as well. Most of the time that email can wait. And that gives you a break too.

Work shouldn’t take away your evenings, your family time, or your peace. For a long time, I thought late-night emails were a badge of honor, proof of hustle. But the truth is, real leadership doesn’t glorify burnout. Real leadership creates boundaries that protect both people and performance. This email reminded me of something simple but powerful: • Culture sets the tone more than strategy ever will • When you hit send doesn’t matter nearly as much as how you set expectations • Healthy teams know the difference between being available and being accountable The best part? A single line at the bottom of the message: “I’ve sent this email at a time that works for me. Please respond at a time that works for you.” It seems small, but it’s a massive signal. Respect for people isn’t just talked about it’s built into how you operate. We don’t need more leaders who grind 24/7. We need more leaders who remind us that rest is a competitive advantage. Imagine if every leader made this shift. Teams would be stronger. Success would be more sustainable. Great leaders don’t just manage results. They protect the people who create them. #Leadership #WorkCulture #EmployeeWellbeing #FutureOfWork #PeopleFirst

I used to feel a wave of anxiety every time a client emailed late at night, expecting a quick response. I also used to have a boss that would do the same, expecting me to be at his beck-and-call always, as he put it "your role is to make me look good" #toxic But then I realised—it wasn’t their emails that were the problem. It was my lack of boundaries. I was the one allowing it to happen. Now, I set clear boundaries with my team and clients (and I don't have a boss anymore 🎉 ). I work flexibly, and my email signature makes it clear: no one should feel pressured to respond outside of working hours. What’s surprised me most? Setting these boundaries didn’t just empower me and provide clarity for my working relationships —it’s inspired others to do the same. I’m curious—do you find it challenging to set boundaries at work? How do you communicate them without feeling guilty? #Pallas #Leadership #WorkLifeBalance

Refrain from sending e-mails at night The members of many organizations I work with complain about work/life imbalance. I’ve shared a number of tools in these posts on how to better achieve balance in line with one’s priorities, but I have not written enough about the leader’s role in driving the core problem. We’re not talking about toxic leaders here. Those folks are in an entirely different category and warrant special attention. My comments are focused on the caring, well-meaning leader who realizes that a number of his employees will stay in the office as long as the boss, regardless of circumstances. That leader knows that the workers have a life too, so he does not typically arrive too early or leave too late. He frequently takes at least some portion of work home because there are just too many important tasks to get done during regular business hours. We’ve all been there. The problem arises when the leader opens up his laptop at home and starts firing off e-mails. The cascading effect is that the employees understand that their boss wants them “on duty” around the clock. Even if you preface your direction with a comment like “you don’t need to answer this until tomorrow,” some of your employees will answer right away. Others will learn to do so too, and before too long, their lives are out of balance and they do not control their own clocks. This is what I suggest: continue your behavior with taking needed work home (but be careful with your own balance). Go ahead and draft e-mails if you need to pass information, ask questions, and assign tasks, but don’t hit “send” until you get to work the next day. There will (of course) be times when you’re dealing with an emergency or need an immediate answer. That’s what they make the telephone for. Pick it up, make the call, and get your answer or give direction, just don’t do it with e-mail. If you’re like me, I sometimes wake up with what I call “monkey brain” and can’t get back to sleep. I then decide to start my day early and stretch, read, write, etc. When I was still in the Army, I had a lot of folks working for me and I found out that I was driving them crazy with my early morning e-mails. Looking back, I wish I had better discipline to wait until I got to work to hit the send button. You can learn from my example but it’s not always a good one. Enjoy your leadership journey! #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipadvice #businessstrategies #leadershipskills

Can we make it a standard practice to delay-send emails that aren't urgent? (Which, honestly, is almost all of them - don't come at me with your "I couldn't get to it until 8 PM on Thursday night, but we need to stay on schedule..." excuses. Accept that your colleague will get to it in the morning and shouldn't be on standby for a late-night email). I am not available 24/7. If you email me on a Friday night or Saturday morning, I will not respond until at least Monday. I say at least because there's a HIGH likelihood that a weekend email will get buried in my inbox or marked 'read' if I open it on my phone by accident and I'll forget about it come Monday. This is a boundary that has been incredibly difficult for me to put in place as a proposal professional. I spent a good chunk of my career being told that I need to be available 24/7 to support the schedule of a SME/PM that has "more important" work to do during the day. As a result, I feel hardwired to respond to emails instantly. I get extremely anxious when I receive odd-hour emails (and yes, I have do not disturb and such on my phone; the notifications still slip through sometimes). That's why I have a timed-send policy for all emails I draft outside of normal working hours. I don't ever want to be the cause of someone else's anxiety because they wake up to an email from me or have their notifications on and see one right before going to bed. TL;DR: If you want to do one very small thing to support a proposal pro today, delay-send your emails and restrict your communication to within working hours.

Managers, here’s a harsh truth: Treating your employees like their sleep is optional is outdated and counterproductive. The most important lesson I’ve learned about sustainable success is this: You can’t outperform a tired brain. Because let’s be honest: We glorify late nights and early grinds, but the real competitive advantage comes from being sharp, rested, and fully present. So, how do you make a full night's sleep the expectation? ✅ Respect a disconnect – Stop responding to after-hours/weekend emails or messages unless truly urgent. (Delete Slack off your phone if you need to.) ✅ Prioritize rest in planning – Build realistic timelines that account for human energy, not just deadlines. ✅ Lead by example – Respect your own sleep, and don't brag about late work nights, show up to meetings rested and ready to work. An athlete wouldn't practice all night before a game, neither should you. Remember: The mistakes a tired team makes are far worse than a few hours of work. ♻ Repost to share with your network. For more behavioral science insights and opportunities to connect, join the thousands of readers of my monthly Newsletter 👉 https://lnkd.in/dnKE4zFj

Want to reclaim your evenings and stop the endless cycle of after-hours emails? "How do you manage work-life balance?" For years, I struggled with boundaries. I was in the corporate world for over a decade. Professionals - by nature - are dedicated. Work has been a source of pride, stress, and identity for most of my career. I never had a system for disconnecting. But when burnout loomed, I knew I needed to create a sustainable approach to work-life balance. So... I examined my habits. I studied successful colleagues. I measured what improved my well-being. I identified what drained my energy. I spent months refining my approach to after-hours communication. What are the key strategies for setting boundaries without compromising performance? You'll hear people say, "Just turn off notifications..." But for those with demanding jobs, where do you start? Here are 5 practical steps I used to regain control of my evenings: Step 1: Set clear expectations with your team ➜ Communicate your availability and response times. Step 2: Use auto-responders effectively ➜ Let others know when you'll be back online. Step 3: Implement a "wind-down" routine ➜ Transition from work mode to personal time. Step 4: Prioritize urgent vs. important ➜ Not every email needs an immediate response. Step 5: Lead by example ➜ Encourage a healthy work culture by respecting others' time. Apply these steps consistently. Adjust as needed for your specific situation. >>What's your biggest challenge with work-life balance? _______________________________________________ Hi 🌟 I'm Stephanie! An expert Executive Assistant dedicated to supporting executives with exceptional organizational and communication skills. 🌼 Keep smiling and stay productive!

For years now, I’ve been harnessing the power of ‘schedule send’ for my emails, and it’s been a game-changer in the way I communicate and lead. The reason is simple: I want to respect people’s time and work habits. We all know those who, out of sheer dedication, will reply to an email immediately, regardless of whether an instant response is required. My goal is to ensure that my communications are timely but not intrusive. It’s not just about avoiding email exchanges outside office hours. It’s about understanding each team member’s “email zone” – that sweet spot in their day when they’re most receptive and least likely to be deep in project work or personal time. This practice goes beyond efficient communication; it’s about mindful leadership. Knowing when your team is most likely to be responsive and respectful of their time can significantly boost productivity and morale. It’s a leadership lesson that continues to yield positive results. How do you manage email communications with your team? Any strategies or tools you’ve found particularly effective? https://lnkd.in/gjS3MNRN #LeadershipSkills #EmailEtiquette #TeamManagement #WorkLifeBalance #ICMA #TCMA #CityManagement #LocalGov