February 1, 2011 by MSI
As a professional in the workforce since the early 1990s I have sat
in amazement at the advances in technology that have occurred over the past 20
years. I often reflect on the days using our DOS based system, which was very
pioneering at the time, our dependence on fax machines, and how funny it was
when the facsimile ink disappeared over time.
Today I sit glued to my laptop each day, multi-tasking between
email, instant message, voice mail, and a suite of standard and specialty
programs. Conveniently I am also equipped with a smartphone, which provides me
with 24/7/365 access to my personal and professional email, work instant
message and work and personal voice mail. After all, the U.S. is considered a
‘live to work society’, as opposed to the Europeans ‘who work to live’. Is this
one of the drivers behind the perceived need to the professional to remain
constantly connected to their work life?
With laptops, iPads, smartphones, wireless connectivity and cloud
computing, I am able to work from any location at any time. For me, it provides
a sense of control over what is going on at work, which I appreciate, but, from
a general human perspective, is our connectivity doing a long-term service to us
or not? How about to our employers?
The vast majority of mid- and senior level executives in the U.S.
remain connected to their company through vacations, weekends, and evenings,
which seems great on the surface in terms of productivity and value for the
company, but does it really hurt the organizational long term? When individuals
don’t have the opportunity to ‘break away and recharge their respective
batteries’ is there resentment that builds over time, discord that eventually
will impact their views of the company and possibly lead to a change? Will
convenience and accessibility further impact our ability to achieve some sort
of work-life balance?
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