Media: Newspaper, TV, Internet and Radio Appearances by Marsha Egan

Bosses can lower holiday stress by giving the gift of no email on the holiday...

Category: media

Marsha Egan has a gift idea for bosses to give to their staffs - a day off from e-mail.

Egan, an executive coach from Cumru Township, has suggested that bosses help take the pressure off employees and send a memo telling them that there is no need to check their e-mail on Christmas Day.

Egan, president and chief executive officer of The Egan Group, believes a day off from work e-mail would do many of us good.

"We should take a break from this 24/7 connection," she said. "When you are that connected, you don't get to take a break."

In today's ever-connected workplace, employees are frequently checking their e-mail from home and on the weekend, Egan said. And even if the bosses don't give an absolute directive to stay connected to work on the weekends, it might just be an unspoken standard, she said.

What's more, she said, a recent study found that six out of 10 employees check their e-mail on holidays.

"What I'd say to bosses is, it is a nice gift to their employees to tell them not to worry about checking e-mail," she said.

Egan, who works with companies on workplace productivity and with executives on effective management skills, said bosses often send unspoken messages about productivity by working late and responding to e-mail on weekends.

That's why it's important for bosses to mention that employees can have a "No E-mail Holiday" on Christmas Day, she said.

Egan, who wrote the book "Inbox Detox," said she has focused much of her work on e-mail productivity issues because many executives say they get buried in electronic messages. Her book gives company leaders a 12-step program to save time and establish effective habits for dealing with e-mail, she said.

"Productivity is a lot about leadership," Egan said.

Contact Darrin Youker:610-371-5032 or dyouker@readingeagle.com

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