As a member of Generation Y, the professional world I entered was a
very different one to that of my parents’ generation. In mid-twenties, I
have only ever worked in one job where I was entitled to benefits. If I
want to catch up with all my friends, afternoon tea on a Tuesday
afternoon is a completely feasible option. Most of us are working on
weekends, at night, split shifts, part-time. Or we’re working all the
time. Only a couple of people I know are actually working full-time and
leaving the office around 5.
Fragmentation, or the increasing trend for work to leak into hours
outside of those traditionally associated with the office, appeared to
affect 1 in 5 working Australians according to a recent study. In my
experience, the trend is more far-reaching than that. Emails come to our
phones, so we can theoretically shoot off a response at any hour. Text
messaging means that workplaces can informally get in touch far more
often. We work on the train in the morning, get a bit extra done on the
presentation on our weekends, get up before the rest of the fam to get a
head start on the work for the week.
Part of the issue is our own making. We want flexibility. We want to
telecommute, are addicted to our iPhones and iPads, would prefer to work
6 hours a day 6 days a week. or 10 hour days but have a three day
weekend. There have to be some compromises if we want those kinds of
benefits. But before we go charging off and dismantle a system that
people fought so hard for, consider this. One in three relationships in
the UK are stated to be adversely affected by fragmentation. It’s also
easy to do extra work that we aren’t paid for, and for it to become an
expected part of our job. While compromise is important, and a good
worker-boss relationship takes both sides to be flexible, if
fragmentation is having a negative effect on your life, it’s important
to look at ways to improve the scenario. I don’t think it counts as a
day off if you’re fielding calls from work. When’s the last time you had
a weekend, where you actually didn’t look at an email? Here are some
simple steps to rebalance your personal life, free from work
distraction.
Set Your Phone To Manual
If you have an iPhone, you can either automatically get new emails or actually have manually get them. Reset your phone,
so you don’t get emails automatically, even if only on weekends. If
there’s a disaster at work, they’re just going to have to deal with it
on their own. Time off is time off.
Don’t Reply
So many of my friends, and myself, have had to retrain how we
approach communication from our workplaces. If someone texts you, just
don’t answer. Answering suggests you’re constantly available. They might
be someone you’re friendly with, but that doesn’t make them your
friends as opposed to your work colleague. If they’ve got a question, it
can wait until you’re actually at work.
Single Task
Spend one day a week without multitasking. This means watching a movie without your phone
nearby. Driving without playing music. Cooking without running the
telly in the background. Try and do life, one thing at a time. You can
check your emails, but only for a certain period and after that, it gets
shut down until the next allocated period.
Approach It Directly
A recent survey, cited in the Sydney Morning Herald, stated that 7
out of 10 Sydneysiders are considering moving out of the city in order
to restore their work-life balance. This is, in part, surely due to the
high cost of living. But before you head for the hills, consider
approaching the issue in a more direct way. Talk to your boss. State
that you won’t be contactable on your days off, and that it’s not your
responsibility to work outside of office hours. Find activities that
are sacrosanct- the morning run, the paper at your local cafe. Learn to
say no, and when you say yes, say it wholeheartedly. It’s a new world
out there, and we’re are all going to have find ways to make this
increasingly blurred work-life distinction healthy and sustainable.
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