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Summertime often means vacation time, but with growing frequency, Americans are blurring the line between work and the rest of our lives.
Personally, I can never completely leave my workplace behind. Cellphones and email are wonderful inventions that have increased workplace productivity and efficiency. You can scan a document and send it across the planet. How easy is that?
But calls, emails, and texts follow us wherever we go. I've received work-related interruptions at dinner, on vacation, in a movie theater, and in the middle of the night. Who does that? Doesn't the person texting from Hong Kong know about time zones?
A conspicuous “ding” that signals “You’ve got a message” has jolted me out of a sound sleep on more than one occasion. Please! Unless it’s an emergency, don’t call, text, or message me about work after hours. Don’t we spend enough time and energy at the workplace? Technology just makes it easier for work-related stress to follow us. My personal revenge is using the same technology that intrudes on my privacy to thwart those work-related calls that would intrude upon my (otherwise) peaceful existence.
The are many ways to use technology to avoid work: I screen calls and voicemails, while simultaneously deciding whether (or not) to read or reply to emails. Sometimes I use the “Automatic Out-of-Office Reply” even when I am not out of the office. By routinely ignoring messages, checking doorbell videos, and screening calls, I’ve developed that fine art of using technology to avoid work-related calls and tasks.
Once again, we see that technology has both a dark side and a silver lining. Yin and Yang. Technology can be intrusive when it erases the boundary between the workplace and your home or phone. But it can also feel good when tech helps us to control our time and environment – in this case, by sending work-related intrusions to voicemail, or by ignoring emails. In this way, I control when to work. As a result of new technologies, we cannot always escape the workplace, and it can become a 24/7 obsession. Luckily, the same technology that torments us is also the tech that allows us to occasionally sidestep and avoid unwanted work and stress.
It’s an interesting phenomenon. As technology makes our lives easier, it can also make it more stressful. Don't allow your phone to act as a “leash” that keeps you tethered to the work treadmill. The good news is you can turn OFF your phone, and choose NOT to check email at scheduled times when your mind, body and spirit need to replenish and recharge. Maybe take a break from technology, and schedule some time "off the grid," to have yourself a more relaxing summer.
