9NOVEMBER 2012

W O R K / L F E

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999NOVNOVNOVOVNOVNONONONONONOVNOVNOVNNOOONOVNONONOVNOVNNOVNOVNONNONNNNNNONNNNONNNNNNNONOVNNNNNNNOVNNNNNOVNNNNNOVNNONNNNNNOO EMBEMBEMBEMBEMBEEEMBEMBEMEMBEMEMBEMBEMBEMBEMBEEEMBEMBEMBEMBEMBEEMBEEMBEMBEMBEMBEMBEEMBEEEEEEEMBEMBEEEEEMBEMBEEEEEEEEEEMBE BEMBEEEEEMBE BEEEE BE BEE BBEE BBBBER ER EREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER EEEEEEEER EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 20120120202020200000020020202020000002020000000020020000000000000202000000200020020000020202202002000022222222222222222 222222

24/7The familiar tone of your alarm

pierces the still morning air, her-alding the start of a new working

day. You open your eyes and turn to grab

the source of the noise.A few years ago, it was a simple

alarm clock.Today, more often than not, it’s a

smartphone. Once you’ve turned off the alarm,

what’s the first thing you do?For a growing number of WA busi-

ness people, emails are checked, mes-sages are read or the internet is surfedto browse the latest news.

Seconds after you wake up, the workday has started.

Work psychologists are calling thisa “polluted time epidemic”.

The advent of smartphones and tab-let computers has turned theoffice into an omnipresent travellingcompanion.

According to research, it’s an affliction more likely to be experi-enced by professionals in skilledjobs, with those on middleand higher incomes the prime tar-gets.

Employees in these industri-

es donate an average of 17 days freework every year through the habitualchecking of emails and unpaid workon the laptop from home.

It has become such a pervasive issue that some divisions of Googleand PricewaterhouseCoopers in theUS have done the unthinkable:they’ve banned work communica-tions outside of normal hours.

For Volkswagen workers in Germa-ny — excluding executive staff mem-bers — work emails stop 30 minutes

after the end of a shift and resume30 minutes before a shift begins.

Australian companieshave been slower to move.

A recent study on work

habits by think tank The Australia In-stitute found only 8 per cent of respon-dents indicated that working outsidenormal hours was discouraged bytheir workplace.

According to work organisationalpsychologist Travis Kemp, a handfulof Australian companies have, pri-vately, brought in similar policies toGoogle and Volkswagen.

Dr Kemp says there is a prevailingfear from businesses that they willsuffer if they initiate a similar policy.

It is a fear echoed by senior manag-ers and executives who spoke to West-Business Insider.

Most indicate that their employeesand businesses will simply fall behindif similar policies are introduced.

Due to this belief, and the ever-expanding rise of tablets and smart-phones, Dr Kemp believes the prob-lem will get much worse before it getsbetter.

“Of course, from time to time, work-ers may need to go ‘above and beyond’,and work outside of normal hours,”he says.

“But ‘above and beyond’ has be-come the norm now.

“The consequence of that is a rapid

increase of health, wellness and men-tal health issues in the work place.

“Anxiety, stress and depression areall increasing and over time we willsee a massive decrease in productivityas a result of that.”

Workplace compensation special-ists Slater and Gordon provide the evi-dence, revealing a marked increase instress-related claims across WAthrough increased connectivity towork.

Lawyer Irena Siljanoska outlinesone recent case, settled out of court,where an employee claimed damagesafter being forced to work from homefor more than two hours almost everynight.

Although this phenomenon is moreoften perceived as an employer-drivenissue, sometimes the employee is hisor her own worst enemy.

The Australia Institute’s researchinto the “polluted time” phenomenonhighlighted the rise of what they la-belled the “me mail”.

“It’s that email that’s sent to thewhole team at 8pm to let everybodyknow that you’re still working,” exec-utive director Dr Richard Dennisssaid.

“It creates a culture for individualswhere they think, well, maybe Ishould be doing that as well.”

Yet University of Adelaide Centrefor Work + Life director ProfessorBarbara Pocock argues increasedwork connectivity is a double-edgedsword. Although she recognised the

New technology is freeingus from our desks, but is itchaining us to our offices?Nick Sas investigates.

Differences intime zones just

aren’t a factorany more.Gemma Tognini

CONTINUED PAGE 25

Switched on: Gemma Tognini,gtmedia managing director. Picture Simon Santi

NOVEMBER 2012 23

W O R K / L F E

“Personally I think it’s an advantage to be able to check your emails anytime, anywhere. It’s a hell of a lot quicker than having to log on to work through a laptop or computer.”Andrew CunninghamMinterEllison Perth managing partner

“If you want to provide the level of service clients quite rightly demand – and in our industry justify the fees quoted — then if comes with the territory to be accessible after hours.”Michael AshforthMacquarie Capital executive director

“It really helps when you’re working in a diff erent time zone, but in saying that, when you’re at home there’s a time and a place for it. You have to maintain that discipline to not look at your phone or iPad all the time.”Nicole RoockeChamber of Minerals and Energy WA director

“It’s a double-edged sword, but I think it can defi nitely become a pretty all-consuming vortex. For the past two days I’ve stopped checking email after 7pm. I’ve got to tell you it’s really liberating.”Mike YoungBC Iron chief executive

HARD DAY’S NIGHT HOW WA EXECUTIVES COPE WITH THE ALWAYS-ON CULTURE

“dark side” was abundant, ProfessorPocock said more workers were look-ing for flexibility in their jobs.

“They find the technologies quiteliberating,” she said.

“I’ve interviewed people who sayit’s great to be able to knock off at four,pick their child up from school orchildcare and work the extra hourlater at night.”

Strategic communications execu-tive Gemma Tognini knows the prosand cons of being connected 24 hours aday.

“I started gtmedia in 2003 and sincethen, the technology has been game-changing,” she said.

“It makes working with clients, par-ticularly those based overseas and inthe east so much easier.

“Differences in time zones justaren’t a factor any more.

“You do have to have a level of perso-nal discipline or else it gets tricky butblaming technology alone is a cop out.It comes down to setting clear expecta-tions with staff and clients.”

WA companies such as Bankwesthave embraced the flexibility mantra,with about 50 per cent of the bank’s

2400 workers informally based atBankwest Place participating in “tele-work” — working externally throughthe advent of tablets and new technologies.

Technological breakthroughs meanthe issue has come to the fore everywhere, even at 10,000m in the air.

Emirates has implemented in-flightwi-fi across the board, allowing passengers to read and respond towork emails to their heart’s content.

Qantas is testing the technology onits Los Angeles flights from Mel-bourne and Sydney.

Depending on who you speak to,this is either an intrusion into the employee’s one remaining sanctuary,or a more-than-welcome time andmoney saver.

For Dr Kemp, it all comes down tofinding that common ground.

“We have to remember there is afundamental difference betweendoing work because you’re passion-ately engaged in it and doing work be-cause you’re expected to and you feellike you don’t have any other options,”he said.

“The whole idea of work-life bal-ance is finding that flexibility.”

FROM PAGE 23