Mummascribbles – Technology and added pressures in the workplace! – Mummascribbles

As an office worker, blogger and social media lover, I rely on the internet in my day to day living. My other half often comments on how much I use social media, especially now that I blog. In work I rely on the internet to look at venues, get designs done and get information over to clients amongst many other things.

Today at work, our internet and phones went down. They were still down at the time I left the office. The MD was having a go at the providers who were slowly sending an engineer to us (they hadn’t arrived when I left), stating how they could be costing us hundreds of thousands of pounds because people can’t get their approvals done without the internet/phones (I think he may have been a bit OTT).

And it got me thinking and my team talking about work pre internet. When I think back to when the older generations worked, they got stuff done, albeit a little slower but it got done. Deadlines would have been met, tasks would have been completed and people would have gone home to their families for tea. The internet and other such technologies seem to have brought added pressures and more work.

People sitting at their desks until late into the evening missing quality family time.

People going home and being attached to their work Blackberry’s, emailing colleagues and clients after they have technically switched off.

People taking their laptops home over the christmas break and people emailing from the beach whilst on holiday (my old boss was guilty of this!).

It seems that with the huge enhancement in the technical world, workers have a huge amount of added pressure to get things done outside of their usual work times.

And where did the 9 – 5.30 hours come in? I don’t remember Dolly Parton singing those times; it was definitely 9-5. But oh no, somewhere along the line someone slung in an extra half hour!

As a working parent, I want to be able to do my job within the hours I’ve been set. I have a work Blackberry but I only use it in absolute emergencies or when I’m on site at an event. I don’t mind working the extra hours if absolutely necessary, it does come with my job after all. But wouldn’t it be nice if just for a moment, bosses could remember that once upon a time there was no such thing as the internet and mobile phones. That for some of them, they used to work perfectly well without it and that staff don’t need these added pressures in what is already incredibly pressurised work environments.

That people have families, loved ones, even pets to get home to. That work is not the be all and end all of life.

I know at the end most people would prefer to be known for living their lives to the full rather than being a workaholic!

Let’s have a word with the people running the internet and mobile providers and see if they can down tools and switch it all off for a whole day.

Oh hang on a minute, that means I can’t check my Facebook!!

Tags: Work, working parent, technology, pressures