Are your staff not reading email anymore?

Do your emails get ignored more often than not? Are your staffers just too busy to respond, or do they feel that email is too old-school to read incoming messages?

In the digital age, it seems executives have to get creative when trying to reach their younger staff. Recent studies have highlighted that people under the age of 25 are significantly less likely to check their emails than those over, so some bosses have been left with little option but to contact them through other means – namely Instagram. This is indicative of how social media has become an integral part of communication for Gen Z and suggests how traditional lines of communication, such as email, may eventually become defunct. 

Why are Gen Z not reading or replying to emails?

1. They prefer other forms of communication

For example, they may prefer to communicate via text message or social media. Additionally, they may find face-to-face communication to be more effective than email.

2. They don’t check their email as much

This may be because they receive a lot of emails and don’t have the time to read all of them. Additionally, they may view email as being less important than other forms of communication.

3. They don’t use email as much for personal communication

Employees from Gen Z also tend to use email less because they view email as being more formal and less personal than other forms of communication such as text messaging or social media.

4. They receive more email than older generations

This is due to the fact that they are more connected than ever before and have more people sending them emails. Additionally, they may be subscribed to more newsletters and marketing emails than older generations.

5. They have a shorter attention span

This is likely due to the fact that they are used to receiving information in short, bite-sized pieces and may find long emails to be tedious and difficult to read.

How should companies respond?

• Keep it short and sweet

When it comes to email, the shorter, the better. This is especially true for Gen Zers, who appear to have shorter attention spans than older generations. To encourage more engagement from Gen Zers, keep your emails short and to the point. Use bullet points or numbered lists to make your emails easy to scan, and get straight to the point.

• Add some personality

Emojis and GIFs are a great way to add some personality to your emails and make them more engaging. According to a study by Adobe, 66% of Gen Zers say that they prefer brands that use emojis in their communications. So don’t be afraid to add a few emojis or GIFs to your emails to capture the attention of your Gen Z employees.

• Make it visual

Gen Zers have become used to visual aids to learn, so it’s important to make your emails visual and include images or videos in your emails. You can also use colour and bolding to highlight important information. By making your emails more visual, you’ll be more likely to engage your Gen Z employees.

• Remind staff that work is a serious business!

Though some staffers largely report not reading internal email communications, it doesn’t mean bosses should stop sending them. Indeed, it is important that younger  staff members are reminded that work isn’t an extension of their leisure time, and that when at work they must adhere to a firm’s communications policy. If email fatigue is a problem at your workplace, consider other ways of communicating important information to your team such as an intranet site or holding more face-to-face meetings.