Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky says he writes no more than about one email a week, arguing that texting is faster, more personal and more effective for communicating with staff.
Chesky said he responds to emails every day when people contact him, but struggles to remember the last time he drafted one himself.
“I don’t know if I write an email a week,” he said. “I respond to emails every day because people email me. But I’m trying to think of the last time I, like, drafted an email.”
He described email as an inferior form of communication because it is organised around subjects rather than people. Text messages, he said, provide more context and create a stronger sense of connection.
“When you get a text message, it doesn’t feel like work to respond,” Chesky said.
The Airbnb boss said he would rather text the company’s 8,200 staff, believing messages are more likely to receive a quick response. His preferred order of communication is face-to-face conversation, followed by Zoom, text and then email.
“If I have a problem, my general philosophy is to try to call someone, text them, meet them in person,” he said.
After-hours messages remain a concern for workers
Chesky said he generally tried not to text employees when they were with their families, unless there was a crisis. He acknowledged, however, that his own work and personal life were probably more blended than those of the average worker.
Other business leaders have also described remaining available outside normal working hours. The founder and chief executive of London healthy fast-food chain Farmer J said he had never switched on an out-of-office reply, including during his honeymoon.
Anna Lundstrom, chief executive of Nespresso’s UK and Ireland business, said employees could reach her through Teams, email, WhatsApp and LinkedIn at any time. She said she would rather know about an issue than not know, and kept her phone close from the moment she woke up.
Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi has described sending emails at weekends as part of working hard and said he expected swift replies from staff during their time off.
But research from recruitment platform Reed found that a quarter of millennial workers would quit if their boss contacted them outside working hours. Among 18-to-34-year-olds, 59% said they would consider moving jobs to protect their work-life balance.
