E-mail, decisional styles, and rest breaks

Cyberpsychol Behav. 2007 Oct;10(5):705-8. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2007.9966.

Abstract

E-mail is a common but problematic work application. A scale was created to measure tendencies to use e-mail to take breaks (e-breaking); and self-esteem and decisional style (vigilance, procrastination, buck-passing, hypervigilance) were used to predict the self-reported and actual e-mail behaviors of 133 participants (students and marketing employees). Individuals who were low in defensive avoidance (buck-passing) engaged in more e-mailing per week, both in time spent on e-mail and message volume. E-breakers were more likely to engage in behavioral procrastination and spent more time on personal e-mail.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attitude to Computers
  • Decision Making*
  • Electronic Mail / statistics & numerical data*
  • Employment / psychology
  • Employment / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Reference Values
  • Rest / psychology
  • Self Concept
  • Self-Assessment
  • Task Performance and Analysis*
  • Time Factors
  • Time Management / psychology*
  • Work / psychology*