With the introduction of iPhones, iPads and other smart phones or communication the number of hours being worked by employees is being increased and sa mentioned in Greggs reading but Towers et. al. 2006 "New media devices enable increase work hours for many employees by invading personal and leisure time".
At present being a full time uni student I dont usually 'bring my work home with me' as I dont allow for my work emails to be accessed via my phone. However I will sometimes have my boss contact me via text, call or to my personal email to discuss some aspects of work for the following day. However for my Dad ALWAYS had work or readings or email answering or phone calls or late night meetings that need to be made or answered outside of work hours. It used to get quite frustrating cause what used to be 'family time' or 'a family dinner' was often disrupted due to this additional work outside of work hours. Not only does this disrupt leisure time but it adds to work stress levels.
A good read for communication students is a book called 'The Winter of our Disconnect' but Susan Maushart where it follows Maushart and her families 'disconnect' from technology. In the book she looks at the busyness of her families chaotic lives and points out the blurring of the line between work and leisure in todays culture due to digital devices (which are intended to make lives easier). She notes that "The constant mixture of the two (being work and digital technology) has led to a true misunderstanding of what leisure should be".
Do you think that the blurring of work and leisure is right? Where do we draw the line?
I haven't done this reading yet but I agree in saying that your work load can follow you home. In this new digital age it seems there is a fine line between your work life and your home life because it can follow you and add unnecessary stress to your life. I think finding a neat balance between the two, by allowing maybe for 2 mobile phones or separate email accounts, is a healthy option in the end.
ReplyDeleteAs Kelly discussed in the week 3 reading, information technology has completely changed the nature of work - and at first mobile technology like phones and laptops were seen to be 'liberating' us from the confines of an industrial workspace. Eran Fisher, a professor in Tel Aviv, says that "the new informational worker processes information rather than matter and is therefore able to break free from the industrial anchors of space and time..." but therein lies the problem. If you don't need a physical workspace, you can essentially be a worker any time, any where.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the solution is to disconnect completely, but I wonder if the problem is only going to get worse. It's also interesting to consider that it's not just the technology that creates this problem. Work culture is becoming more competitive because capitalism, education is easier to obtain and more skilled workers means you have to strive harder to stand out from other employees.. there's a range of things happening in the world that are causing the lines to blur..
I would definatley have to agree, work ALWAYS seems to follow me home. I find that when my work blends with my leisure time, it becomes difficult to accomodate both and make the distinction between the two.
ReplyDeleteI really like Susan Maushart's point that you included above, "The constant mixture of the two (being work and digital technology) has led to a true misunderstanding of what leisure should be".
I find it funny that technology enables us to extend our communication, but sometimes we would rather it didnt... i think that keeping our work confined to our work lives is going to be extremely difficult in our generation's futures.
I think the line is blurred, but I don't see it as a huge issue. I answer calls, check out emails etc related to work during my leisure time, not because I feel obligated too, but because I know sorting out the problem or dealing with it then and there will help me out in the long run. I am rather fortunate that one of my jobs is extremely flexible, there is no set work hours, but because of this it means I should able to 'work' or at least have a work related conversation/task to be done whenever I can physically do it. If I carried the idea of only working during the hours of 9-5 with this job I would be fired instantly. Much of it involves travel, working late nights and weekends, which is often considered as leisure time. Like many people have mentioned I think it is all about balance, if you can balance work and leisure then you should be fine.
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