Leadership Strategies to Address Information Overload and Never-Ending Email Messages / Bruce M Forman.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Forman, Bruce M., author.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania. Chief Learning Officer, degree granting institution.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communication.

Chief Learning Officer--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Chief Learning Officer.

Local Subjects:

Communication.

Chief Learning Officer--Penn dissertations.

Penn dissertations--Chief Learning Officer.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (143 pages)

Contained In:

Dissertations Abstracts International 85-02A.

Place of Publication:

[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] : University of Pennsylvania, 2022.

Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2023

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Information from multiple sources and the disruptions caused by these sources can overload knowledge workers. Knowledge workers are inundated with information and lack sufficient mental processing capacity to receive, sift, prioritize, delegate, and make thoughtful, effective decisions. Leaders in organizations may experience the downside of information overload even more as they juggle priorities and supervise multiple people across teams and organizations. According to peer-reviewed studies, information overload increases stress and decreases productivity, negatively impacting decision making and possibly leading to burnout. Given these challenges, practical strategies for managing information are necessary to reduce the negative impacts of information overload. The most significant contributor, email, is nearly ubiquitous. Therefore, email is an entry point to understand better techniques leaders use to manage information overload. This research study surveyed healthcare leaders to measure their level of perceived information overload and compare these levels against demographic categories. Then, semistructured interviews were conducted to gain additional details about leaders' experiences with email overload and their email management strategies. Leaders experience email overload consistently across demographic categories, and email overload continues to increase. Leaders feel pressure to respond quickly, which causes anxiety, resulting in an always-on mentality. Smartphones provide access to email even at times when a computer is not readily accessible. Boundaries to protect work-life balance are largely ineffective since they are not followed consistently. Smartphones exacerbate this boundary issue since they are always available. Leaders lack effective strategies for managing email, and their strategies primarily focus on minimizing the email in their inboxes. Moreover, these strategies generally do not work effectively even at minimizing the amount of email in the inboxes because the email volume has become too high. Leaders may consider establishing and maintaining boundaries for when and how often they check and respond to email. Leaders may also consider alternate methods for prioritizing which email messages they review. Organizationally, leadership should consider providing guidance at new hire orientation and on an ongoing basis to set expectations for email use and provide guidance on how to use email. Ideally, the results of this survey will spur discussion within organizations about how to best address organizational culture related to managing email, giving leaders the courage to try new methods for managing email within their organizations and teams to achieve greater benefits and enhance work-life balance.

Notes:

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 85-02, Section: A.

Advisors: Herrmann, Zachary; Committee members: Ravitch, Sharon M.; Ellis, Phillip N.

Department: Chief Learning Officer.

Ed.D. University of Pennsylvania 2023.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175

ISBN:

9798380111195

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.

This item is not available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.