But what turns out to be the case? If you receive more emails from different people within your company, your risk of burnout is actually much lower. Based on email communication within organisations, we conducted network analyses and compared them with the results of burnout questionnaires. The result can be seen in the image below. Employees who are central within the network and therefore receive many emails from different colleagues are shown in a lighter blue colour and therefore have a (much) lower risk of burnout. It is precisely the employees on the outer edges of the network – who therefore have less intensive email contact with colleagues – who have a higher risk of burnout.

With this insight, it becomes clear that being well embedded within a network can provide protection against burnout. Even if this is accompanied by more intensive email communication. Research had already demonstrated the positive effect of feeling strongly connected to a particular group. However, based on these figures, it is clear that organisations still need to do more work in this area.

Even in these specific COVID-19 times, it will be important to ensure that employees within a company continue to communicate with one another and remain connected. “From an analysis of Twitter activity over the past three weeks, we noticed that employees experience the absence of colleagues as one of the most important pain points. Even for employees who are temporarily unemployed, it will be important to stay in touch. If companies want to restart smoothly after the ‘lockdown’, they will need to continue paying a great deal of attention to internal communication,” says Jeroen Naudts, Managing Partner at Starfish.

In this specific COVID-19 context, it will be important to deal creatively with the limitations imposed by the situation. For example, a virtual coffee break with colleagues or even a virtual Friday afternoon drink before the weekend can be a good alternative. What matters is not only meeting as a group, but also having the opportunity to catch up online in smaller groups of no more than three or four people. From a management perspective, it will also be important to communicate transparently with all employees about future prospects. And to ensure that no one is left out of that communication.

“Data and network analysis provide even deeper insight into what is really happening within an organisation. Surveys and questionnaires are very valuable tools. But with data analysis, companies gain an even deeper understanding of the dynamics that exist within their organisation”, summarises Jeroen Naudts the vision of Starfish. Only through this approach were we able to gain the insight that less email communication is associated with a higher risk of burnout. With this approach, Starfish aims to make a difference and help our clients become more resilient in these uncertain times. In a next phase, we want to build a platform that allows companies to upload their internal data and quickly gain an overview of the dynamics within their organisation, as well as the pain points that weaken it.

It is important to add that, with this methodology, the content of emails is not analysed. Only the individuals involved, the time of sending, replies and response speed are analysed. Moreover, the data do not have to be limited to email communication. Data from communication platforms such as Slack, Yammer or SharePoint can also be included in this analysis.

Would you like to explore whether we can carry out this study within your organisation as well? Or would you like to learn more about the results? Then be sure to contact us and we will be happy to explore it together with you.