E-mail overload survey strikes a nerve

Communication World, March-April, 2007

The results of IABC's survey on e-mail overload, which appeared in the November-December 2006 CW article "Too Much E-Mail!" by Tudor Williams, ABC, and Ryan Williams, have garnered significant interest from the business media. The survey findings have been cited in Business Week, Rocky Mountain News, The Modesto Bee and Destination CRM, as well as such industry publications as PR News and Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog. (See all of the association's latest media coverage in the IABC News Centre at news.iabc.com.)

The survey, sent in August 2006 to IABC members worldwide, revealed that of the 1,718 respondents, 47 percent said they receive too much e-mail and too many text messages. Another 15 percent said they receive considerably too much e-mail. Half of respondents indicated that the amount of e-mail they send out is just right. Instead, external news and professional subscriptions were cited as the No. 1 cause of e-mail overload. Respondents with a BlackBerry seemed to feel the most overloaded, with 75 percent of users indicating they receive too much e-mail.

All that e-mail is affecting productivity. Eighty-five percent of respondents said e-mail overload is having a negative influence on their productivity some of the time.

How to combat e-mail overload? The survey revealed that respondents feel a need for the establishment of e-mail policy and protocol. A range of solutions were proposed by respondents, ranging from the establishment of training classes for employees who have access to e-mail, to calling on company leaders to act as role models for e-mail reform.