Email is the proxy for work management in many orgs. I think it could be a stand-in for GitHub issues instead, and the desire to process it while not observing

Email is the proxy for work management in many orgs. I think it could be a stand-in for GitHub issues instead, and the desire to process it while not observing the screen makes sense. (But I agree with your overall distaste for managing work that way. “A World Without Email” by Newport speaks directly to to that)