Commentary: Answering emails outside of work hours frequently can affect psychological health more than you realise

Employees who had supervisors expecting them to respond to work messages after work, compared to groups who did not, reported higher levels of psychological distress - 70.4 per cent compared to 45.2 per cent - and emotional exhaustion - 63.5 per cent compared to 35.2 per cent.

They also reported physical health symptoms, such as headaches and back pain - 22.1 per cent compared to 11.5 per cent.

Groups of employees who felt that they had to respond to work messages from colleagues outside of work hours, compared to groups who did not, also reported higher levels of psychological distress - 75.9 per cent compared to 39.3 per cent.

They also reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion - 65.9 per cent compared to 35.7 per cent - and physical health symptoms - 22.1 per cent compared to 12.5 per cent.