Apologies to R.E.M. for bastardizing the title to their classic tune. I had no choice.
The media circus that is my life seems to have taken on a life of its own.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) just after the 2:00 p.m. ET newscast, I'm going to be on Toronto's CFRB 1010 radio station. I'm talking about work-life balance, and the fact that the proliferation of mobile technology has made it increasingly easy for employees to take work home with them - and for companies to take advantage of that fact.
We're sending a press release on this topic to the wires first thing in the morning, so I'm hopeful that we'll generate even more buzz for this important issue.
The Motts (more precisely the husband-wife team of Carol and Paul Mott) will be interviewing me, and you can listen to the live stream by clicking on CFRB's home page, then selecting the big red Listen Now button at the top of the page.
I hope you can tune in. And if you're somewhere in Canada and want to call in to add some fun to the proceedings, so much the better!
Update, Tues. 8:30 a.m. The press release is now online: Employees Feel Obligated to be Available 24/7, Says Survey from Info-Tech Research Group
Your turn: Do you feel obligated to take work home with you? How do you set limits when your professional life threatens to bleed into your personal one?
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13 comments:
Hey Carmi,
I don't let my work come home with me, but then again, I'm not a journalist.
I have seriously tried to separate work from home life.
i work from home so there really are no limits. My only limit is that everything stops for 2 hours when my son comes home from school.
happy birthday to your little guy!
hmmmmmm...... working in mental health means I MUST be able to leave work at work - otherwise my own mental health is gone in no time!
When you work at home it really is a challenge to not let the work seap into your life 24/7. I haven't quite learned how to manage this yet; hoping to get better at it with time. At the present moment there have been too many late weeknights and weekends of doing freelance work.
Will try very hard to listen to you radio spot, you RadioHead!
My partner takes work home, and that means a stress-free environment and more quality time.
The work gets done. He's happier. I'm happier. So it works for us.
~S
Balancing the work-life with the real-life. This is probably one of the most difficult aspects in living today, especially for parents of children. When we were an agrarian community, the children were part of our worklife. When we were an agrarian community almost everyone was semi-poor but could survive and was reasonably content with that. I don't think I have every been successful in keeping things in balance...they always swayed one way or the other.
Spousal situations can be affected by working at home.
P.S. For what it's worth, when I think of exploding laptops, I think of you. This story describes an incident in Singapore; however, it didn't occur on a plane, but in an office.
Come to think of it, that's another reason not to bring work home.
As I work at home it becomes hard to feel AT HOME sometimes. Caring for 2 handicapped ppl 24/7 can be as rewarding as it is taxing. Getting up in the middle of the night to change wet beds or get the client up to potty..or the daily constant attention needed to keep them well cared for has to be waged with the need to be a mother, a wife and a well rounded person. OK I am well rounded but for different reasons lol...In any event, its a balancing act with Ups and Downs but if by the end of the week there is an average Even Keel, well, I consider it a success.
I wish I had a job again where I WANTED to take home work with me. Mine is pretty much confined to the office. I miss being needed that way.
I used to be able to telecommute. Now I'm not able to anymore (New boss.arrrrrrrrrgh). But when I was allowed to, I'd often work from home after hours. I, personally, am FAR more productive at home than in an office.
They said "Oh but your son...."
Yeah okay, my son is great. He plays by himself, he sits with mommy when she works. And I work late to get stuff done early for the next day so I can play with my son while he's awake. But whatever dudes.
So these days? I'm biding my time until I can quit this job and work from home full time writing or doing something else I love equally as much.
on the CFRB 1010 thing : my dad used to listen to that all the time...when I was a kid and we would go on trips I would get car sick...but being a kid I didn;t make the car and the sick connection...I thought I was allergic to talk radio.
On the work balance thing...I definetly have that issue...more apparent as I sit here finishing work so I can go on vacation tomorrow...I find the work/life balance very difficult...but I am a social worker...and I think that comes with the territory.
Here from Michele.
In Mississippi at first I left the work at the office. Of course as a pathologist, it is hard to bring home the vats of formalin fixed tissue so its best to leave that at work. Later with more administrative duties and manual writing and inspection preparation... the work came home. Write the manual entry on the home computer and e-mail to the office for printing.
It's best to leave it at work. I missed my sewing and smocking and other craft hobbies and ended up working myself to death. Long story, not very pretty and still trying to get over it all. But, better days are ahead, they have to be.
I think companies that require you to work at home should be required to pay for those hours. Install punch time cards in the home and pay time and a half, overtime.
Stopping by to say hello....
Do I feel obligated to take home work with me? Yes and no. Yes, because I am a freelance speechwriter and therefore I work for myself. No, because I work for myself and therefore I create the rules.
I am very comfortable with not looking at e-mail from clients during my off-time and I will simply turn off my mobile when I am not in the mood to accept calls. All of my clients understand this and yet they still continue to hire me.
Having said this I KNOW that my choices are not always the ones that can be made by someone who is not self-employeed. Did this answer help? No, I didn't think so.
I do think I have heard you before on the radio. It is a fun experience!
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