We need decisive action to stop the slide into always on working, says Mandy Rutter
Ask your boss if you really need to take your work mobile on holiday and the likely answer will be, "oh well, no, it's a holiday. But it's up to you…".
Digital devices and 'always on' working have meant the biggest changes to working lives since the 1980s and the move to screen-based work. And the fact is, our psychological ability to differentiate between when we need to be connected and when we can switch off just hasn’t kept pace with the technological change.
In the meantime there's a culture of anxiety based on uncertainty about whether we should always be in touch, niggling insecurities over who does and doesn't pick up emails in the evenings and on holiday, grey areas over what's expected and what's just unreasonable and intrusive.
For too long, organisations have got away with being vague about the whole issue. They've benefited from all the extra time and effort without recognising the contribution or what the impact might actually be on the longer-term psychological wellbeing of their people.
We are all - to one extent or another - ‘anxiously attached’ to our mobiles, constantly checking messages only to end up responding to unimportant or non-urgent tasks, and not allowing ourselves to detach long enough to become recharged and regain a sense of perspective. Breaks, weekends, holidays, they're all an important part of the mental breathing space needed to be effective at work.
This is why the world got very excited when news broke that France had banned work emails after 6pm. In fact it was actually guidance from two unions rather than a full mandate from the government but the internet and media fuss only demonstrates how important the issue is.
I don't want to generalise too much - because of course there are many people who find it easy to dip in and out. Digital devices mean being able to be more flexible, leave work a bit early for some family time or duties and then pick up something again later in the evening. There's nothing wrong with staying in touch with work on holiday if it's important enough (to both you and the organisation).
What's needed is clarity, not necessarily anything in contracts, just plain guidance: this is what we'd expect from our staff both out-of-hours and on holidays. It's also about culture. Discourage bosses from putting pressure on their teams by sending all-hours emails, just save the message and send it first thing.
Being 'always on' needs to be an active choice, not something that happens to all of us by accident, with all kinds of potential unintended consequences. The "up to you" line needs to be challenged.