The best time to send an email is Sunday at 3:00 p.m, a survey found, but experts warn this could be a form of 'techno-invasion'

• The best time to send an internal work email is Sunday at 3 p.m. because it's more likely to be opened. 
• Experts warn that it could make colleagues feel like their personal lives are being invaded by work. 
• A new study by Axios analyzed the average open rate of 8.7 million emails sent on its platform. 

Workers looking to get ahead will find that Sunday afternoons are the best time to send an email, according to a new study.

Axios HQ, a firm that creates "AI-powered software that helps organizations manage their essential communications," analyzed the average open rates of 8.7 million emails sent through its platform between January 2022 and March 2023, and found that Sundays between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. are the golden hours to send emails. 

It found that 94% of emails sent during that time were opened, while 86% of emails sent between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on the same day were also opened. This could be partly because there are fewer competing emails in people's inboxes on Sundays increasing the chances of it being viewed. 

People sending emails "during low-competition times, like Sunday night, can ensure they are top of mind — and top of inbox — during your readers' most available hours, like first thing Monday morning," Axios HQ said.

Although some workers may view this as an invitation to show off their work ethic, one expert warns this could be a form of "techno-invasion." 

Dr. Matthew Davis, an associate professor at Leeds University Business School, told The Times of London: "There's this phenomenon known as 'techno invasion'. And that's a sense of the work technology creeping into your personal life as well. And we know that's linked to people feeling more stressed, less satisfied with their work and their work-life balance." 

Davis added: "My worry would be if people see this and think 'I'll start sending these more routinely on a weekend'. Because for some people, it's fine... but there is a good proportion of people that this will add to that sense of a burden."