Opinion Not reading work emails? The Delhi government is not amused

There are, in every workplace, two kinds of people. The first category consists of those who, either as a function of dedication or neurotic tendencies, check every email, answer every text and respond with an almost annoying alacrity on the office WhatsApp group. These front-benchers are, unsurprisingly, the blue-eyed boys and girls of upper management. More often than not, though, they are relative outliers. The majority of the bell curve has scores of unread emails, will often have to be reminded to check their messages and will, much to the chagrin of the powers that be, treat the job as work that ends with the workday. It is this second category that is causing a headache for the Delhi government.

Over the last three months, the Delhi government’s IT department has been trying to nudge bureaucrats — including at the secretary level — to read their official emails. It seems that despite the repeated advisories and notices, officials do not regularly log in. This is a major problem, not least because official instructions and notices are sent to the official address. (This begs the question of whether the notice to check the official email was sent on the official email.) Their official email is also linked to the portals of several government portals and services. If it is not checked for three months, the officers lose access to all that it provides.

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There is no easy answer to the problem that plagues the government of Delhi. Bureaucrats, like so many people today, are inundated — on social media, personal WhatsApp groups, etc. But then, in every workplace, there is a price to be paid for not being up to speed — a nagging boss, an annoying HR missive. With every unread mail, the offending officer must ask herself: Is avoiding a bit of boredom worth the hassle, really?