Emails are stressing out workers, and the youngest people in the office are feeling the most pressure.

A majority of people say the volume of work emails they get each day is stressful, according to a recent survey of 2,000 U.S. office workers from Babbel, the language learning platform. But Gen Z workers ages 18 to 24 are the most likely to let those messages pile up.

More than a third, 36%, of Gen Z workers say they have over 1,000 unread emails in their inbox, compared with 18% of office workers overall.

They're also more likely than other age groups to say they've sent an email they regret, with 1 in 5 Gen Z professionals saying they "very often" regret the emails they send.

"From our findings, Gen Z appears to struggle the most with email stress and stacking up a huge quantity of unread emails due to a combination of factors," says Esteban Touma, a linguistics and culture expert at Babbel.

"Gen Z's communication preferences are heavily influenced by the prevalence of instant messaging platforms and social media," he says. Platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, for example, prioritize instantaneous communication, informality and visual cues.

On the other hand, "the structured and formal nature of email communication may feel unfamiliar and more complicated to many [Gen Zers]," Touma says.

Differences in communication styles can fuel burnout

Those misaligned expectations and experiences with communication styles, whether through email, instant messaging or live, can have a big impact on employee engagement. In some cases, it can fuel burnout.

Keely Antonio, 25, says communication challenges contributed to her feelings of burnout at her first corporate job. She began working part-time for a retail company her senior year of college and quickly took on big client meetings and sales goals. The role looked good on paper, but "I felt like I didn't have the tools to manage the stress," she tells CNBC Make It, especially as she neared graduation in 2020.

One culprit? "I didn't feel like there was a streamlined method of communicating in that organization," she says. Emails felt outdated and too clunky to deliver real-time feedback and support, and other forms of communication were lacking.

Tools like faster and more casual communication channels could have made it easier to speak up in the moment and address her needs, she says. She declined a post-graduation offer to join the company full-time despite a $100,000 salary "because the working environment lacked the supportive atmosphere necessary for sustainable well-being." Antonio went on to co-found FeelSwell Experiences, which consults with companies how to attract and engage Gen Z workers.

Touma cautions that a work culture that overly emphasizes immediacy isn't a great solution, either. An expectation to respond quickly to emails and other messages "can blur the boundaries between work and personal life," he says. "This constant connectivity can contribute to heightened stress levels and feelings of being constantly tethered to work obligations."

Young workers have a harder time setting boundaries

It's crucial for workplace leaders to set, communicate and model expectations around response times for messages and email, especially for younger workers who are new to the workplace, Touma says: "Unlike older generations who may have developed strategies for compartmentalizing work and personal communication, Gen Z may struggle to establish boundaries."

As for setting better boundaries around work emails, Touma recommends responding to urgent messages within an hour or two. For things that aren't time-sensitive, responding within 24 hours is "considered courteous and professional."

To tame your inbox, he recommends first setting up filters to automatically sort emails by urgency and topic, so you know what needs an immediate response and what can be addressed later.

Second, set specific times to check and respond to emails to prevent constant interruptions throughout the day.

Finally, unsubscribe from any irrelevant email lists and newsletters.

Want to land your dream job in 2024? Take CNBC's new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.