Sender-initiated email notification

Interruption to work activities reduces the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge workers. Much research has focused on providing email users with tools to help them better manage the interruptions caused by incoming email (e.g. “intelligent” notification agents, ambient displays). The research presented here explores the possibility of a socially mediated email interruption system in which the sender of an email determines whether or not the recipient should be alerted of an incoming message. Research activities were undertaken to compare both the sender and recipient’s evaluation of the timeframe in which a given email message needed to be read. This research shows that a relatively small proportion of email requires immediate attention. While in most cases the sender and recipient agree about the timeframe in which a message needs to be read, the extent to which senders and recipients disagree raises concerns about a sender-initiated notification system.