Lack of time and too many e-mails are the most common reasons people say they don’t reply (although some of the busiest people I know are the most prompt responders). Checking their e-mails on one device, like a smartphone, making a mental note to reply more in-depth later, and then forgetting, is another. And, of course, there’s always the possibility your e-mail ended up in the junk or spam folder.

But there are more emotional reasons as well. One is fear of commitment or a hesitation to say no. My friend Janine said she would drop the ball when she was invited to something she didn’t want to go to but thought she should.

“I want to say ‘no’, but feel that the right thing is to say ‘yes’, so I am frozen and then I plan on going back to the e-mail to draft a reply, but it gets buried,” she said. “Then I feel even worse for not replying and put it off again. It’s not nice to leave people hanging, but I do.”

Source:  New York Times