Here's the 'Best' Time to Send a Work Email—but Maybe Don't

It's most likely to get opened on a Sunday afternoon, though it also may tick off workers
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 26, 2023 3:55 PM CDT
This Might Be the 'Best' Time to Send a Work Email
   (Getty / oatawa)

It's what everybody just loves to get—a work email on a Sunday afternoon. But by one measure, that is the best time for bosses to send one out, according to communications software company Axios HQ. The firm crunched data on nearly 9 million company emails and found that those sent between 3pm and 6pm on Sunday had a 94% chance of being opened, compared to a typical range of 50% to 76% the rest of the week, reports Fortune. The window of 6pm to 9pm also was strong, at 86%, per Business Insider. The rationale is pretty obvious: emails sent on a Sunday have less competition. But the coverage also suggests bosses think twice before hitting "send" on a Sunday in the name of morale.

"My worry would be if people see this and think, I'll start sending these more routinely on a weekend," Dr. Matthew Davis of Leeds University Business School tells the Times of London. "Because for some people, it's fine ... but there is a good proportion of people [for whom] this will add to that sense of a burden." It appears that employers are cognizant of this, because weekend emails account for only 2% of work emails sent for the week—for now. Given the high click rate, it's possible that percentage will start creeping up, part of what Davis calls the "techno invasion" of our lives. (More email stories.)

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