Does Constant Access Shatter the Home/Work Boundary? 321
StonyandCher has passed us a link to PCWorld.au, once again raising the tough topic of work/life separation. A department of the Australian government went ahead with a purchase of dozens of Blackberry communication devices, but is now delaying their deployment. The reason: "Staff expressed fears about BlackBerries contributing to a longer working day and felt it was going a step too far because mobile phones are adequate for out-of-office contact. Not everyone agreed, however, with some senior executives claiming a BlackBerry can contribute to work/life balance by facilitating telecommuting and more flexible schedules. " For the time being this issue is on hold for those staffers, but how does this issue fall for you? Is constant accessibility freeing or just another chain around your neck?
this is incumbent upon the employee (Score:5, Interesting)
I know employers can apply pressure, but employees should try to establish early and firmly what extended accessibility means. Pagers have been around for millenia, Blackberrys simply give better message.
Arrange and agree to a schedule for which you consider yourself "on call", publish those times, and make it clear you aren't "on call" when you aren't.
Personally, I see the encroachment more often by those who have some tension with their personal life whereby this constant connectivity to their job elevates somehow their status, and provides instant and real-time reason/excuse to be unavailable in their personal lives. In other words, lots of those who "get connected" like this do so willingly, and with a certain sense of self-importance.
My other observation has been that those who are not to be bothered by work when they're not expected to be available off-hours simply don't carry their Blackberry, or turn it off.
I know there's always the exception, but I think most employer-employee relationships can and do strike equilibrium with minimal fuss. If your employer is that horrid in their insistence and demands, find another employer. I did.
Two-sided (Score:3, Interesting)
On the one hand, I enjoy the flexibility of having my laptop come home with me, so that if something happens and I can't get to my office, I can still work. On the other hand, I get obsessive with problems I can't solve, so there's the pitfall of going home, logging in, and continuing to work. It's up to the individual to control their use. Now, if your supervisor begins pressuring you to work more... that's a whole different ballgame, but still, you have to push back when work bleeds into your home life to the point that it interferes too much.
Im constantly monitoring not necessarily available (Score:5, Interesting)
I have several email addresses routed to it, which each have different notification tones. If I receive a Nagios alert to my "Oh Crap" email address, the notification is loud and insistent. If I receive personal mail, it's subtle. Business mail is also fairly quiet and subtle but different to personal mail.
Outside of "working hours", I can choose to ignore it easily enough. Only if our monitoring system picks up something alert-worthy do I have to actually bother actioning something immediately.
When I was first offered the blackberry, I made it clear to the MD that this would not intrude upon my personal life unnecessarily. If I *choose* to read my business emails outside of working hours, then all fine. I balance that with *choosing* to read my personal mail during work hours
P.
Meh (Score:3, Interesting)
Then again, you make me do work stuff at home, I'm gonna do more home stuff at work. Yay internet.
Re:this is incumbent upon the employee (Score:3, Interesting)
Sadly my IT assistant keeps his phone on all the time, and in fact was emailing/MSNing me about work matters this week even though he's on holiday. He's going to charge for overtime, but still, I find the very idea of doing work on holiday sickening, even if you're an MD or something (where it's more likely that you really do need to be connected). My uncle once spent what seemed like half of our family holiday in France on his mobile.. yuck.
Re:this is incumbent upon the employee (Score:2, Interesting)
Since 19 I have carried a pager, cell phone, laptop, or some combination of the three with me where ever I go. Its in my car at all times or within 5 mins of where I am. (Except my private motorcycle times when the weather is warm)
My wife knew what she was getting into when she married me, so it hasnt been an issue of contention there. Aside from 1 CEO who abused my availability (SWH I am talking to you. Jerk), I have been able to balance the two.
What I am getting at is that I go into each negotiation knowing I will be on-call. I dont take a position unless I am making what I should, includding my afterhours time. I have been lucky enough that the coroporations want me badly and to date havent had an issue.
I sort of agree with the parent that on-call made me feel important in the beginning. I was young. I am well past that and see it as just another day in the office.
T
Executive toys perhaps? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not sure about Blackberries... (Score:5, Interesting)
If you were to die tomorrow, this would affect your family for the rest of their lives. You are irreplaceable. Your company would fill your position within days and except for your immediate co-workers, nobody would even care.
Re:Yes, but I waste more time on the clock (Score:4, Interesting)
A man gets a Bill from his lawyer.
That is an excellent solution to the problem, but I doubt many people would have the guts to go through with it.
My 2 cents. (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:I've heard people say... (Score:5, Interesting)
What I find funny about the Blackberry thing is that, in a couple places that I've worked, they were being used pretty much exclusively for middle-management. The lowly helpdesk techs supposedly weren't important enough to get one, in spite of the fact that it would be really useful for them to receive e-mail when they were away from their desks "in the field". Then a bunch of managers who were at their desks all day anyway had them. But then, oddly, the executive team didn't have Blackberries.
I once asked one of the VPs about it, and he basically said, "We let the managers get them because it makes them feel important and they aren't that expensive. But I sure as hell don't want to be on-call 24 hours a day." I felt like I learned something right there. The trappings of power are usually most appreciated by those who don't really have any. Those guys who spend a lot of time trying to show you who's boss are specifically those who aren't "the boss". The people who are really in charge don't necessarily feel the need to prove it to you.
Just how many channels do we need? (Score:2, Interesting)
I find it rather hilarious how many mechanisms we have for communication these days.
But what is very interesting is the inconsistency of it all.
I use the following means to communicate to my peers at work:
Due to cost reduction efforts, many workers no longer have work cell phones nor pagers. But some do. Furthermore, many of us permit others to call us on our personal mobile phones but don't publish these numbers in the official directories.
Next, for a variety of reasons different individuals seem to prefer one channel over another. I often go very long periods without even bothering to check voice-mail (which when coupled with extensive telecommuting renders futile attempts to contact me via that channel). Some in my group simply won't use Internet Messaging. Some aren't as responsive to email.
A lot of this has to do with various coping mechanisms or frustrations. Some who do use IM get rather frustrated when half-a-dozen of us in a virtual meeting all conclude we need to involve them. Simultaneously they'll get half-a-dozen IMs asking questions or inviting them to join the meeting. Others of us cascade avenues of contact to minimize extra work. Those that need to know (i.e. management or close peers) do know how to reach us but all others are kept at arm's length so as to be able to prioritize work and avoid getting buried.
When I here the complaints of these workers regarding Blackberries, it seems as if they're rather afraid of the expectation of fast response to email. At the moment they likely have any old excuse for not responding to email promptly. That'll vanish overnight.
Re:this is incumbent upon the employee (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes, but if you are the only one...
IME, if your point is reasonable, you will not be the only one.
A while ago, my (formerly small and privately owned) employer was bought out by a much larger corporation. One of the first things they did was try to change everyone's contract to their national standard boilerplate. Unfortunately, that boilerplate included clauses that affect life outside work. They required permission to get any additional paid work, even things like playing semi-pro musical gigs at your local bar for beer money, or tutoring a few kids for some extra cash. They claimed IP rights to everything you ever did, regardless of any connection to the employment. You get the idea.
I think they thought I was just a lone whinger when I objected to these terms, which were a far cry from our previous, reasonably balanced contracts. They were wrong. In fact, a substantial proportion of the staff stood by me, either because they felt strongly about some or all of my points themselves once I'd drawn attention to them, or simply because they thought I was being reasonable and were showing solidarity with fellow staff. I can't remember how many people got fired during the whole exercise, but let's just say they were all in HR and the offending contractual areas were changed back.
Now, if your point is unreasonable and you really are just being selfish given the job you signed up for, no-one will back you up. You'll have to put up or get out, and I doubt your employer will care because they'll find someone more reasonable to replace you. But if all you're asking is for a fair deal, you might be surprised about how many of your colleagues will stand with you when it comes to crunch time.
Re:Ditto what he said. (Score:4, Interesting)
For example, as an IT worker myself, I think having that 24x7 accessibility to my work can be a benefit, but it's also the greatest source of my frustration. As a result, I've stopped carrying such devices for business use.
I've been much happier carrying only a cell phone - that I pay for - that I can turn off when I'm out of the office. I've made it a point to separate work and home. Since I started doing that a few years ago, I'm much less stressed and can focus more. Work stuff stays at work and my personal life can stay out of the office.
When it's mandated that I be available 24x7 for a period of time (such as an on-call rotation or a major project), I still weigh my choices and, if it's too demanding, I'll decline. Yes, even if it's career-limiting decision. Usually, it's not a problem and, in fact, some managers have gained respect for such a decision (even if they didn't think so at the time they asked).
Obviously, others will have differing points of view. However, it's important to keep a balance. That balance will differ from person to person.
Re:this is incumbent upon the employee (Score:2, Interesting)
Did it drop enough? You tell me. For the last three months I was there, I averaged 55 hours/week... but that brought the group average down, so I got verbally counseled for it. The group (about 50 people or so) was averaging 80 hours/week, largely because of a couple of contractors who were logging about 100 hours/week . Trim the outliers (contractors at one end, me at the other) and you still wind up with some pretty long work weeks.
Yes, the employees contributed to the problem, by tolerating the conditions. However, they weren't the sole cause, as the employer made it no secret that they would just as soon shitcan you if you "whined" about working more than 50 hours/week, and the market made it difficult to find similar paying work elsewhere.
Blackberries creep the crap out of me (Score:2, Interesting)
That is, we all were taken out to lunch. And while we're eating, our guides (CitiGroup employees already in the program) kept on checking their Blackberries. It was about then that I decided that any situation where my personal time was expected to be preempted by work without notice was not a situation I wanted to be in.
Boundaries are artificial (Score:2, Interesting)
Many, many people give me a hard time when they see me using/wearing it. Frequent comments are that I'm chained to it, that I can never leave work, etc. These couldn't be further from the truth: it's a liberation.
It's just a tool. Like any other tool, the secret is in how you use it. Here's some benefits/advice:
1. Forward your desk phone to it. Answer all email and phone calls using it. This way, everyone learns to expect a response from you using your blackberry. Now nobody knows where you are. You could be in a meeting, in your office, at the pub, or on the bus home. You now operate in stealth mode and have great freedom of movement and schedule.
2. Days off become less stressful. If you're in a similar position than I am, taking time off is problematic. I frequently come back to more chaos and work after I take a day off, and it's very stressful worrying about what goes wrong when you're not there. No more. A glance at the 'berry and you can head problems off at the pass. I'd rather spend 30 seconds emailing a corrective note off than 4 hours fixing a problem that's reached upper management the next day.
3. You can blend work and home life. Many people don't like this, but I do. Sometimes I come in late or leave early, if this means I have to spend a couple of hours on the weekend firing off a few emails when I have a clear head, so be it.
4. Typically, you can use it for personal use, as long as you don't get out of hand. This means that you don't need to pay for a personal cell phone.
5. It forces brevity. You don't want to write multiple page emails or have long conversations on the 'berry. Get you message crafted and out there in a short period of time.
6. Google maps rock on a blackberry. Especially with the "location" feature, which doesn't need GPS.
Re:this is incumbent upon the employee (Score:1, Interesting)
I've been the only one because the other people were scared. It's a risk.
I'm an admin. I had a 2 hour personal lecture about letting down the team, being a bastard, etc. I was promised time-in-lieu (which I wasn't getting). All I asked was to be paid. They even lied, saying it was in my contract that I work for free on call. Uh-hum...that time, they backed down. It could have easily gone the other way, and I would have lost my job at a time when I couldn't get another one easily (if at all).
My point - you made your choice. I understand, but half the blame is still yours. When I was younger, I worked in a warehouse with the same problem and it would have been bad with a job loss. In the end, when I was younger, I understand they fired almost everyone and automated the job, but I'd left for another job by this time.
I do question your less-than-sustainable pay though. I saved money on a $4/hour job to pay for university courses, while working full time (40 hours) *and* attending school full time. No loans. Paying rent. I sold my car, ate cheap, stopped drinking, no cable, very little sleep - all for 3 years while I dug my way up. It was worth it.
There are *always* ways to live cheaper here. They aren't fun, but you *do* have options. I have no pity for you if you live in North America.
Re:Telling work when you're available... (Score:2, Interesting)
Try just not looking or not answering. Return the call during working hours. If they ask didn't you get my message, say no, I don't check messages off hours. Wait until they threaten to fire you.
Re:Not sure about Blackberries... (Score:5, Interesting)
Not always the case. I got very tired of the working conditions at $VERY_LARGE_COMPANY and was vaguely entertaining the notion of leaving. Another company that was familiar with my work contacted me out of the blue and asked me for a resume. A week later I had a job offer in hand and gave notice.
$VERY_LARGE_COMPANY panicked. They had three different managers call me and try to convince me to stay, offered me a raise, more stock, better working conditions, etc. I told them that they should have done that before I got so fed up that I decided to quit, but that I would be more than happy to answer emails if they needed help with anything after I left.
I talked to a couple of my former coworkers recently. Turns out that a few months after I left, they gave up on finding a replacement, disbanded my old team and moved further development for the product I had been working on (which is used by millions of people and has at least one book written about it) to Bangalore, where it is languishing. And it's not like it was a crufty mess, either -- it was clean, very thoroughly documented and there were several developers who were very familiar with it. Unfortunately, they were also very junior, and apparently judged unfit to be in charge of it.
The moral of the story? Don't assume that just because you work at $VERY_LARGE_COMPANY that you're just a faceless drone and they'd be able to replace you at the drop of a hat. And conversely, if you're a manager at $VERY_LARGE_COMPANY, make sure you give your employees appropriate treatment before they're ready to walk out the door.
The Sergeants Run the Army (Score:4, Interesting)
I am the original techie (architect/engineer/developer/programmer/administrator/etc) in the company. Over 20+ years, the business has grown and gone public, and my systems have become the mission-critical part of the business. There really are some problems for which I am the only person in the world who knows the systems well enough to solve them. And, some of those problems are extremely expensive (per-minute) until they are solved. They pay me well enough that I don't mind a few extra hours occasionally, and a lot of extra hours very occasionally.
A typical "emergency" ends up being most of a night to put the systems back online and stable, followed by a few days of follow up to fix the underlying issue, communicate what happened, and to coordinate who is going to do what to make the fix permanent. We had a bad month last September -- I ended up working 100+ hours/week for several weeks straight. That doesn't happen very often.
To balance, I feel free to take some under-time, whenever I need it, or I judge it to be appropriate. My usual office schedule is probably about 35 hours a week, and much of that time is spent "walking around" (mentoring, tutoring, and a lot of listening).
A few times over the years, a "senior management" type has fussed at me about my hours or schedules. None of those people work here any more. It's amazing how that happens. Some people think they can just issue orders. Others understand that they need to cooperate with the people who can actually make things happen. It doesn't take long to see the difference.
The wise lieutenant understands that the senior sergeants actually run the army, do what they recommend, and don't piss them off. The life expectancy of a foolish lieutenant on the battleground is just a few days.
Re:Not sure about Blackberries... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:this is incumbent upon the employee (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Ditto what he said. (Score:1, Interesting)
Everyone's an Employee, Everyone's a Manager (Score:3, Interesting)
This is clearly an intractable problem that cannot be solved any other way. Blame the technology!
Seriously, no piece of technology can be blamed for poor time management. Neither can one blame one's manager for allowing that person to manage your time poorly for you.
This is an issue of ownership. Own your job, own your time, and take responsibility for yourself. If everyone's doing what they should be doing, then this discussion is moot. If everyone's not doing what they should be doing, then how about having that discussion instead of some hypothetical potential abuse you fear by those above you?
My attitude toward my managers is this: if you're a good manager, then you're going to remove the obstacles I tell you are blocking me from doing my job. If you're not going to behave that way, then you're irrelevant to my core duties, and I'm going to invert our relationship. In other words, now I'm your manager, in the sense that I have to manage you as yet one more obstacle in my path to completing my tasks. If I do my job as your manager correctly, you'll trundle along happily and never know that I think of you as essentially a child out of your depth. If you become too much of a problem, I'll take me and my record of success somewhere else where I can work with adults.
Re:employee benefits good; laws of eccon. better (Score:2, Interesting)