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?
