What does a car manufacturer have to do with global IT concepts? In recent times, a lot! According to a BBC Technology news article, Volkswagen has elected to turn off Blackberry servers after hours to allow their staff to separate their work and home lives.
I am always plugged in, and as an entrepreneurial business owner, I can’t help checking my email before I go to bed – and first thing when I wake up. This has had an impact on my life, but it’s a choice I’ve made.
We all expect our emails to be read by employees, clients or suppliers and don’t select when they’re sent. There are some serious implications of this trend in relation to hours worked and time management. It’s also a union minefield for larger businesses that has not yet been dealt with in Australia.
Just a couple of years ago, handheld devices were status symbols for executives who felt very important being connected to their office at all times. Today, as the price point has come down significantly and availability has increased, every reasonable person over the age of 12 seems to have a smartphone capable of connecting to email. Telstra has sold over 900,000 new devices and plans this year alone. So now everyone can be impacted by intrusive out-of-hours company messages.
The question has to be asked, “Why don’t we all limit the access to work email systems to work hours and enjoy time to ourselves in the evenings and on weekends?” If the expectation of instant connection is broken at the corporate level, our expectations of people change very quickly. After all, we should work to live not live to work, right? So Volkswagen may well be engaging in a new and very popular trend.
Is it time we all consider the impact of these invasive systems? Will Australian companies follow suit?
Please take time to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on this emerging trend – will it take off? And should it?
David Markus is the founder of Combo – the IT services company that ensures IT is never an impediment to growth. We win awards for the service we offer, so if your IT environment is slowing you down, contact Combo on 1300 726 626 to organise a complimentary consultation with David.
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