Engulfed... In work... Sound familiar? I bet. This perception and experience of working has truly come to define life and modern society, especially as work and leisure can increasingly be seen as extensions of each other. With the convergence of work and leisure, paired with vast advancements in information and communication technologies, our work and home life issues and projects can seemingly reach us whereever we are, at warped speeds. So, how do we find that ideal balance of work and home life?
I would personally find it much more difficult if I had to restrain myself from working outside of the workplace - Even if I had to log every bit of research, email or phone call I have done or taken outside of work, it really would become more effort than its worth. I would rather no restrictions at all (free to do all the extra work I please!) or complete restrictions. We are too far gone with our telecommunication and technology convergence within workplaces - I really would need to be under either one of the extremes. I think that with the convergence of technologies, our generation is blessed with the opportunity to multitask, in more ways than we could ever imagine.
I think it would be very difficult to keep work to work hours. I guess it depends on who you are though. Like I would prefer to 'send the email' now rather than wait, because it would be on my mind.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the job too and how much one is being paid. Like if I had a high wage, I would definitely do whatever it takes to do a good job, even if it meant doing a little work outside hours.
I don't really think it is possible in todays society, because it is what we are all used to now, and we are all about efficiency and getting the job done.
Hi Olivia!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that if I only had my official working hours to do all what I had to do..I would be quite happy about it. But probably not relaxed at all. I would be thinking that somethings might not be done properly, on time or there might be something really urgent. But, what if we all had only the office hours to work? That wouldn't be a problem for anyone. That's how people worked 20,30 & 40 years ago!
Nowadays...I think you can't even ask that question. Work hours are invading leisure time and we don't even think that is working! It's just...doing some checking before going to bed or having dinner. We should think about it. I don't want to be a work slave.
You've raised a great question there. Although we all consider what we have to do for work, people tend to work more effectively and efficiently in different environments. I know many friends who don't really do any uni work until they get home, yet I find it really hard to get anything accomplished in my home environment.
ReplyDeleteThere are still occupations out there that require little thought/work outside of the workplace, but generally these are more casual or service type environments. Perhaps within a full-time or permanent job where you consider it to be a 'career', communication, thought and time needs to be spent 'working' outside of work. In todays knowledge society, the constant sorting of information itself can be a full time job.
I like your point about it being more effort to work during set work hours rather than in your own personal time. I just received an email on my phone outlining details about a job for next week. It's awesome cos I get all the details, it is stored for later reference and It's accessible all from my phone. Now I happen to be sitting at home just chillin, but it is much more efficient for me to receive information in this way, even if it is during leisure time. It would be a lot more effort, time consuming and costly if I had to physically travel somewhere to receive the same sort of information. Now I know this isn't always the case, sometimes we do have to have meetings and go somewhere for things, but I think it definitely does make it easier. If not only for myself, but the person sending the information on the other end as well.
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