Is email response latency associated with perceived social status and stress hormone levels?

 

I think this idea is probably true to some extent, but it's not as simple as it seems. In professional or hierarchical settings, response time can be a kind of social signal. People who feel more secure in their job or have more control over their time may not feel the need to respond right away. This can be seen as a sign of higher status. On the other hand, responding very quickly can sometimes show that you feel like you need to be available right away. That being said, context is very important. In a lot of workplaces, quick responses are seen as a sign of reliability and competence instead of low status. Some people with high status respond quickly because they are efficient, not because they feel pressured. There is some evidence that being constantly connected and getting a lot of emails can make people feel more stressed and, in some cases, raise their cortisol levels. So people who feel like they have to respond right away might be under more stress, but it's hard to say that response latency alone is a direct sign of stress hormone levels. I think response timing is a weak but interesting way to measure both perceived status and stress. It probably shows things like autonomy, workload, and expectations that are going on underneath, rather than being a good measure on its own. 

I think that the latency can be lso releated to the social status.  In particular is also possiblethat in order to prove the importance the person will repay leter demostrating the is busy.