work life-balance
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We have never been more connected to our jobs, and yet, we have never felt more dissatisfied with them. The millennial generation is seeking more fulfillment from working life, google is introducing napping pods at its offices and younger workers are yearning for telework policies to provide them with the comforts of home while they attend to their jobs 24/7. All of these are indicators that we are craving balance in our lives, that we are striving to figure out how to separate work and play in the midst of ambient connectivity. So herein lies the million dollar question, how does one achieve work-life balance in today's digital age?TRANSCRIPT
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By:
Flipbook AssignmentFilm 260: Digital Media TheoryProfessor Sidney Eve MatrixMay 2014
“Welcome to the new world of work, where 5:30 p.m. is far from the end of the day.” Knowledge@Wharton, Time Magazine, 2012
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We now have the means to stay connected to our jobs
via smartphones, tablets and laptop computers
24/7
83% of professionals say they
check email after work Time Magazine, 2012
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2/3 professionals say
they’ve taken a work-related device, such as a smartphone or laptop,
with them on vacation
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Time Magazine, 2012
Technology may enable work-a-holism,but society
encourages it
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“Being a successful member of middle class society is showing our dedication to
professional work and being available at all hours of the day,”
- Carolyn Marvin, professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, 2012
we expect more from our jobs
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As technology allows work to play a more prominent
role in our lives,
“as shown by Net Impact’s survey, they [millennials] are more concerned than their predecessors with finding
happiness and fulfillment in their work lives.”
-Jeanne Meister, Forbes Magazine
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Jeanne Meister, Forbes Magazine
Millennials also want more
flexibility from their jobs
and
the option to
telework from homePhoto: via Wikimedia
Commons
“According to research by
Future Workplace,
flexible hours and
generous
telework policies are even more important
to younger workers than is
salary.”Jeanne Meister, Forbes Magazine
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons
Butare we, as humans,
designed to be
working every hour of the
day?
In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Leslie Perlow found consultants at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) who had regular
downtime, reported greater satisfaction with their jobs
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Time Magazine, 2012
If digital technology
prompts us to bring work home, perhaps work-life
balance in this digital
age requires bringing downtime to work
Google’s offices have recently installed
energy pods within the office for 20 or 30 minute breaks
Time Magazine
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Then again, perhaps work-life
balance lies in knowing when to
detach from work
completely
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According to The Washington Post, the only country whose
productivity rivals that of the overworked United
States, is France.
Photo: Via Wikimedia Commons
“Yes, France. Where workers enjoy 30 days of paid vacation
every year… and a leisurely stroll to the café after leaving work at a
decent hour.”Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post
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Indeed, multiple strains of research show that
work-life balance
increases efficiency among
workers
“if you can’t get your work done in the standard 37 hours a week, you’re seen as
inefficient.”Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post
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In Denmark,
So before becoming a busy bee, consider this:
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doesn’t mean we should
just because technology has enabled us to work
24/7,
Works Cited
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