Is a balanced work life for real?
weekly roundup A journalist's job is somewhat similar to a doctor's--both are on call 24 hours by 7 days a week. While we obviously have official working hours--I suppose because labor laws demand it--we need to be ready to get right back into action at a whim's notice, either to perform emergency surgery or to cover a news-breaking event.
Increasingly though, this 24/7 work ethic has now extended to other professions, thanks--or no thanks--to the emergence of the Internet and the various communications gadgets and gizmos, which have given bosses the ability to contact their employees anytime they need to.
A recent study from Info-Tech Research Group revealed that 81 percent of workers feel obliged to make themselves available to their bosses, or for work, around the clock.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at a security company Sophos, quipped: "I've had journalists phone me up when I've been in the bath." Well, at least he was already enjoying a bubbly warm bath--the reporter who was on the line with him was probably still at his desk, in the newsroom.
The upside of all this technology is that you no longer need to stay by your workstation or telephone just because you're waiting for a client to call. So while your working hours may still be long, at least you can now slog from the comfort of your home or from a café.
And ultimately, you still have a choice to turn off the mobile whenever you need to, or avoid logging onto the corporate network once you're reached home after a long day in the office. So, it's really up to you to decide when it's time to switch off from work and take a breather. Are you happy being a 24/7 worker?
Why don't you give yourself a well-deserved coffee break now and check out some of the news headlines from this week? Read how Asia may finally be catching up with its Western counterparts in the technology realm, but Thailand could face an uphill task playing catch-up with its Asian peers. And see which country gets to launch a new chapter of Asia's largest ICT show next year.
Also, find out which platform Linux is saying "Hello" to, and why Microsoft's security team isn't breaking out a cold sweat this year at the annual Black Hat security conference.