The Work It, Mom! Blog
with Nataly
Hi, I am Nataly and I am the co-founder of Work It, Mom!
I write the daily Work It, Mom! Blog where I talk about issues affecting working moms, goings on in our Work It, Mom! community, new site features, updates,and contests. I also share my own juggle between work and family and love to see members jump in with comments. Come and visit often!
Nataly's profile on Work It, Mom!
So here’s my dilemma with all this technology and connectivity that we’re able to have today with our laptops, the Internet, mobile phones, synchronized folders, and so on:
On the one hand, these tools let me work any time and from anywhere, which means that I can leave work at a reasonable hour, see my kiddo, and then get my work done at night from the comfort of my living room. A big, big plus.
On the other hand, because I am always connected, I think I end up working more. Technology has blurred the line between my work time and non-work time, so I feel the need to catch up on work from home if I have some extra time. I wouldn’t be doing this if I couldn’t log on to work email from home, for example.
Thus the dilemma.
Turns out I am not alone. In this new survey, 85% of respondents said that technology makes them more productive and they appreciate the opportunity to get their work done remotely. But 35% of people also said that they are working more because they are always connected.
Hmm. As with all things, there are upsides and downsides, and I guess if pressed, I’d say that the upside of being able to get my work done from home beats the downside of working too much. But I absolutely positively need to draw better boundaries between my work and non-work time at home or I will end up feeling like I am always a little bit working. This weekend is a good — or bad — example. I left work a little early on Friday to pick up my daughter and spend the afternoon together. So on Saturday night I logged on to fire off a few quick emails and two hours later I was still working. You know the drill — one email leads to another and you get sucked in. Then I logged on on Sunday while my daughter was napping, to finish an email I’d left in draft and an hour later I was still working on what I call non-essential-can-wait-until-Monday stuff. Result? Probably an easier Monday morning but an annoying feeling of not having had much of a relaxing weekend.
Do you think technology helps you juggle work and family better or just work more? Or both?
Subscribe to blog via RSS
Thanks for this post. There’s no doubt, Nataly, that technology is increasingly blurring personal/family time and work time. It’s something I struggle with all the time - do I just answer this email on my Blackberry on my “day off” so Monday will be easier or do I simply shut down and, barring a true emergency, stay off line? Sometimes I do the former, sometimes the latter. But I am cognizant of the need to set up boundaries and to be in the present moment with my family. I blogged about this recently on my Work Wednesday blog at http://www.currentmom.com.
Check out “Smartphones: The Working Mom’s Scourge or Savior” - http://www.currentmom.com/currentmom/2009/06/smartphones-the-working-moms-scourge-or-savior.html.
Stacy | July 27th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I personally feel that technology helps me to spend more time with my kids. I am able to work at home most days, which means no commute and less time spent putting myself together. Then once the kids go to bed, I am back at it within a few minutes. It is also easy (sometimes too easy) to check the internet news, etc., take care of personal stuff online, etc., some of which would be a lot more time-consuming and logistically difficult if I couldn’t use my computer to do it. The blackberry is great when I am out & about during office hours - it is a lot more convenient than having to set up my computer every time I want to check my emails. That said, I probably do spend more time at the computer than I would with less “connectivity,” but that extra time is used to keep me more organized than I would otherwise be. It reduces the stress that otherwise spills over into my family time. I do have the occasional conference call while preparing dinner, but that is still better than having to be in the office for an extended time to take such calls. (My kids don’t seem to mind my conference calls as long as they don’t go outrageously long. Sometimes they try to chime in, LOL. Thank goodness for the mute button. But seriously, there’s nothing wrong with kids hearing adults’ work conversations once in a while. They might learn a few things.)
I did have to learn discipline in order for connectivity to be a positive thing. For many months, I used to bring my computer and phone downstairs to try to squeeze in a bit of work between saying goodbye to the nanny and feeding the kids, or while they wound down in the evening, or during the weekend. This was mostly unproductive and it didn’t result in the best parenting choices. So one day I just decided that the computer is off limits when I’m with my kids in the mornings / evenings, unless I have a true work crisis that can’t wait a few hours. As for the blackberry, I keep it with me when I go out (for safety purposes), but I don’t usually answer it or check emails. I have a full evening with my kids, and then once they are tucked in bed, I can focus on work much better.
SKL | July 27th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Technology can be both a blessing and a pain, being always connected has its advantages if you need things to be done asap, but that Blackberry can also take over and dictate your life. I feel the need to totally disengage from work when I’m at home and sometimes technology makes this impossible. A good friend who’d suffered from a burnout gave me some good advice, its simple but it works, she told me to use the off switch, the best advice in years.
12 Weeks Pregnant | July 28th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I think technology does make it easier for me to get my work done, but it also makes me more accessible to those I don’t need to be accessible to on my days off.
We do have a strict rule in our house, though. No work-related things (phone calls, emails, etc) on our days off. We try not to even TALK about work on our days off.
Jenni | July 28th, 2009 at 2:00 pm