Does the Working Week Ever End?
A recent study has found that the widespread use of smart phones has led to an average increase of around 15 hours to many peoples’ working weeks.
The main culprit for the increase in workload is email. People have access to work email all the time. There are few occasions when communication is not possible. A by-product of this is that others know their email recipients will have access to emails at any time and therefore expect a response. This pressure was non-existent in the past as people were not expected to respond outside work hours.
There are obviously many positives that can be gleaned from remaining connected at all times. Opportunities are not missed, and it is much easier to provide a better customer service experience.
However, are people forgetting – or not allowing themselves – to have time off? The expectations of employees and managers are far greater than ever before. Competition for jobs, contracts and clients is fierce; so is being available constantly.
As technology improves, making communication and synchronisation between work and office seamless, there will be no excuse for not being available for work at all times. The divide between work and free time will soon be unclear.
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