The German Answer to the Post-Holiday Email Nightmare

 As many of you will know, I’m currently enjoying a family holiday in Canada.  And, whilst I’m trying to forget about work for the time being, I know that I still have to be available in case any of my clients need to contact me.

It’s not all bad though. By spending a few minutes each day online, I am keeping on top of anything urgent that needs addressing. However, I am fully aware that once I am back in the UK and working my regular hours again, I’m going to have a significant amount of emails to wade through.

Yes it’s all part of returning to work with a bump and an inevitable reality of taking a holiday. But that’s not the case if you work for one of the progressively forward thinking German companies such as Daimler or Volkswagen.

These two German car giants have realised something very important: take care of your employees and they will, in return, take care of you and, therefore, your business.

At Daimler, they have just implemented a new policy for when an employee goes on holiday. It’s called the Mail on Holiday initiative and basically sees any emails that are sent to an employee who is currently on holiday deleted. The sender is subsequently informed that their email has not been received and an alternative person to contact is given.

The result is that when the employee returns from their holiday they are not immediately swamped with hundreds of emails requiring their attention. But why have Daimler adopted this approach? Surely all employees understand that the email nightmare that awaits them following a holiday is just part of life.

Well, the Daimler Mail on Holiday program was introduced following a work/life balance research project that was conducted with the University of Heidelberg. It seems that while the Germans understand the importance of working hard, they also know that working smart is a must.

Daimler highlighted their thinking in a statement announcing the policy: “The aim of the project is to maintain the balance between the work and home life of Daimler employees.”

But Daimler isn’t the only German company to implement such cutting-edge initiatives. In 2011, Volkswagen made a decision to stop sending emails to their employees after the end of their shift.

Deutsche Telekom have a similar policy which sees no emails after hours and even Germany’s Labour Ministry have advised their ministers to not bother employees after hours unless it is an absolute emergency.

Work/lie initiatives such as this prove that modern businesses are waking up to the reality that the wellbeing of their employees is paramount to their overall success. Its part of a growing ‘data detox’ trend in European corporate life that is designed to reduce employee burnout.

Perhaps more British companies will adopt a similar approach in the future. After all, remaining competitive in the European marketplace is in the best interest of UK businesses.

Daimler’s Mail on Holiday policy is apparently optional. I doubt, however, that many people choose not to take advantage of it – do you?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net