Total Team Solutions Blog

Stress in Flexible Work Environment

By: Rob Lynn

The work /life imbalance is a continuing struggle for many as technology has created a 24/7 opportunity to stay engaged in office work which can drain your life’s battery as many can’t find a way to unplug.  Office email on the smartphone, facetime, cloud technology and other such advances can free up employees by allowing them to work from home or finish tasks afterhours.  This can provide increased job satisfaction as the flexibility allows employees to deal with personal matters during the day.  Conversley, the same technologies can cause employees to feel they must be available constantly.  There must be a line drawn between work and personal time so that employees can truly unplug.  Here are some suggestions:

1. Advise employees to turn off online messaging tools when they are not “at work”.  Make email accessible after hours only on a home computer and not a smartphone which will avoid the checking on work during dinner/family time.
2. Consider banning email after work hours so that employees don’t feel pressure to work all the time.  Ask management to schedule companywide emails to arrive during office hours.
3. Provide workers a digital dashboard that highlights their vacation time and allows them to block all group messages.  And make sure employees are encouraged to utilize all their vacation.
4. Advise employees that the smartphones & tablets all have one thing in common – The Off Switch.

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