When Your E-Mail Goes Unanswered…what do you do?
The NY Times published a piece last Friday on email and expectancy. I found this timely and relevant as a girlfriend of mine and I were just talking about this very subject Saturday night. On the one hand it seems like an invasion of privacy that we are expected to answer our phone at all times (because a large majority of us have the ability to do so, if we own a cell phone), and if we don’t- we get reamed by loved ones. On the other hand, when WE want a response to an email, phone call, etc., do we lose our patience? A question to ponder perhaps. I am curious about the average number of times a person re-sends a message, gently nudging another to respond. What’s your number? And how much does context matter? Are we compelled to respond to work related email, phone calls, etc. more promptly than we are to our friends and family? Futhermore, does this say something about our values and how we choose to prioritize our responses?