Do you ever clock off?

April 10, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

clocks

It seems the days of clocking on and clocking off have given way to a generation that never clocks off. People may be physically present at their work place for set hours each week but that’s not the full story.

Today’s technology is amazing but with all the advantages it brings, there’s a down side. Being available 24 hours a day now means that the lines between ‘work time’ and ‘personal time’ have been blurred. It’s great to be able to occasionally shoot off a work email after hours when needed but the ‘occasionally’ has become ‘regularly’ and in many cases expected and required.

Now, from the country that adopted the 35 hour week back in 1999, comes a new way to ensure that the free time of its citizens is not eroded by their smart phones or computers. The Australian has reported that a new labour agreement in France is ensuring that workers switch off when they clock off.

The legally binding deal, signed by employers’ federations and unions representing almost one million workers in the digital and consultancy sectors, stipulates that employees should be left alone when they are out of the office.

Staff will be ordered to switch off their professional phones and avoid looking at work-related emails or documents on their tablets and computers.

Businesses will be required to ensure that workers are under no pressure to check their messages. – The Australian

So how about you? Do you ever clock off completely or are you constantly connected? Is the expectation to be on call at all times robbing you of being totally present with the ones you love?

A study suggested that 39 per cent of workers and 77 per cent of managers used their smartphones, tablets and computers for professional purposes in the evenings, during weekends and on holidays. – The Australian

When we combine the call of constant availability for work with the ‘demands’ of social media, is there ever a time when we disconnect fully? Are we destined to become more and more immersed in our electronic worlds and become less and less connected to those around us? I know it’s an issue that has been raised before but I think we need to keep looking at it until we find a suitable balance. Maybe the legislation in France is part of that answer.

Have you put anything into place that guards your time against the invasion of technology? Have you managed to find a way to use technology without technology using you?



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Smart Phones?

September 23, 2013
by Rodney Olsen
6 Comments

I love the convenience of smart phones and being able to capture memories but there comes a time when we need to stop “capturing moments” and start experiencing life again.

With a smart phone comes much responsibility. Use it wisely.



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I Blame Google

July 15, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

Are you finding it harder to remember things? I know that I’ve noticed myself searching harder for a word or name a little more often recently.

I thought it was just that I was getting older but I’ve found out that I can blame it all on Google. I thought Google was my friend, the keeper of all knowledge, but a study, led by psychologist Betsy Sparrow, an assistant professor from Columbia University, has found that while the internet gives us immediate and constant access to information, we’re becoming more dependent on it as our own personal memory.

Apparently we don’t feel we have to remember things any more because it’s all at our fingertips on our computers, smart phones, iPads or other devices.

Sparrow’s research reveals that we forget things we are confident we can find on the Internet. We are more likely to remember things we think are not available online. And we are better able to remember where to find something on the Internet than we are at remembering the information itself. This is believed to be the first research of its kind into the impact of search engines on human memory organization.

Sparrow’s paper in Science is titled, “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips.” With colleagues Jenny Liu of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Daniel M. Wegner of Harvard University, Sparrow explains that the Internet has become a primary form of what psychologists call transactive memory—recollections that are external to us but that we know when and how to access. – Colombia Research

The idea of relying on an external ‘memory’ isn’t new. A lot of people can’t remember birthdays and anniversaries because they know that their spouse has taken care of all that information. When we believe that access to the information we require is readily available we tend not to commit the details to memory.

I wonder if you’ve noticed that yourself. Are you forgetting things a little more often? Have you perhaps discovered ways to keep your memory active? Who remembers birthdays at your place? I’d love to hear your thoughts.



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