There are times we might want to send an email to someone late at night.
Is it the right thing to do? Is it unprofessional and unethical?
You might suddenly remember a work email which you need to send to a colleague or your boss by the end of the day. You check your time and it is already 11 pm. You are tempted to send the email though it is very late at night.
Before making such a decision, you need to consider the effect of your actions.
Most people don’t like taking their office work home. When they are at home, they focus on their families and do not want any disturbance or distractions.
Some people are very tired from the day’s work, all they want to do is to have a good rest and sleep.
Some people just want to have some private time with their spouses and sending emails to them late at night could be a disturbance.
You also need to consider the fact that some people are already asleep by that time and sending emails to them will be of no use because they won’t respond to your email.
Sending email late at night and expecting a response is unrealistic because your recipient may be asleep or engaged with other family pressing issues.
Now, back to the question. Is it unprofessional to send emails late at night?
The answer to this question is Yes.
It is unprofessional to send emails late at night because of the many reasons highlighted above which should be considered.
Sending late night emails shows that you don’t respect people’s privacy and private life, which is very unprofessional.
Unless it is an emergency or it is highly important, then it is advisable to wait till the next morning before sending the email.
You also need to know that sending emails late at night does not yield a good response rate.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why sending emails late at night don’t yield good results.
You are Prone to making Mistakes
Composing emails at night is a wrong decision to make because you might be feeling sleepy, which will make you prone to making a series of mistakes.
We all know how we feel when we are sleepy and writing at the same time. We make mistakes and make wrong spellings.
It is best to wait till you are fully awake to compose your email, especially if you are composing an official email for your boss or a colleague.
You might as well send the email to the wrong person because you are not fully aware of what you are doing. This might get you in trouble with your boss or in your workplace.
Your Email will likely not be Read until the Next Day
Most people don’t check their emails late at night, some people are already asleep as at the time you sent the email, some people may be busy with their family and personal issues.
You need to realize all this and know that sending an email late at night will most likely not be read till the next day.
There is really no need to waste your time composing and sending an email when the odds are against you.
It is best to just wait till the next day to send the email so that you will get a response immediately you send the email.
You should be Asleep
Imagine sending an email to your boss or a colleague when it is expected for you to be asleep.
There should be a clear definition of office hours and time for official work. When it is time for you to be asleep, it is expected that you should be asleep.
Do not bring official work into sleeping time.
This can be very annoying and you may be on the bad side of your boss or colleague. To prevent upsetting your boss or your colleague, it is best to keep your email until morning before sending it.
You might be Waking Up Someone who is already Asleep
Some people find it difficult to go back to sleep when they are distracted by a phone beep or call.
This can be very frustrating because they need to wake up early the next morning to get set for work.
If they don’t have enough sleep at night, it will definitely affect them during the day.
To prevent such a situation from happening, it is best you don’t send an email at night.
Allow people to have a good night sleep so they can wake up agile the next morning.
You will be Pressuring your Recipient to Reply
Do not put people under undue pressure.
If you are a boss and you send an email to your employee late at night, that employee will definitely be under pressure to reply because you are the boss and he/she wants to impress or do your bidding.
Sending email late at night is putting undue pressure on your recipient to respond to your email which is unprofessional.
It is Disrespectful
It is quite disrespectful to send email to someone late at night when you know they are probably with their spouses or engaged with one personal activity or another.
Respect people private times and send emails at working hours.
What is the Best time to send Emails?
There is no particular best time to send emails during the day. This is because different people read and respond to their emails at a different time of the day.
However different studies have been conducted and data were gathered on the best time and day to send emails.
Data showed that the best time to send emails that will yield good response rates is on Thursday 8-9AM.
On Thursday 8-9AM was found to have the highest open rates.
It is also best to study your recipient and know the best time that he or she mostly checks his or her emails for best results.
