‘Millennials checking work emails frequently tend to be more stressed’, study by YouGov finds
American millennials who check their emails frequently for work tend to have higher overall stress levels than those who don’t, according to a YouGov report.
The study, conducted earlier this month exclusively for The Drum, surveyed 1,146 American adults online about their daily habits and stress patters. While frequently checked worked emails were shown to be stressful to all age groups, it was a particularly stressful habit for millenials – those aged between 18 and 34.
Nearly a third (29 per cent) of the base 179 respondents who sent or checked whether work emails were stressful or not admitted they were. In comparison, just 11 per cent said the practice eased their stresses.
The trend was similar for the older 35 to 54 year old category, according to the study. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of older professionals admitted that sending and checking work emails calmed their stresses, while only 13 per cent said the process relaxed them.
However, for the non-millennial crown, the report found that sending or receiving personal emails was a great stress reduced.
Of the base 1,050 respondents to the question, only 8 per cent of those aged between 35 and 54 said using emails for personal use stressed them and 14 per cent said it actually chilled them out. Such acts did reduce stress for millenials, but not as much. Just 12 per cent of the those professionals aged between 18 and 34 said checking and sending emails for personal use stressed them, while 15 per cent revealed it reduced their stresses.
The same patterns were found with work and personal instant and text messages.
However, it seems the stress doesn’t lie in technology itself, rather, people are stressed by the content of that technology. Americans reported that their greatest overall stressers are finances and work.