Before the pandemic, many of us were already struggling with the accessibility of technology, the ease in logging onto the work platform to check emails or updating a project plan at any time was originally seen as a convenience. As time goes by, the blurring of boundary between home time and office time is now causing fatigue across the corporate world. Research has shown that people are generally spending at least 2 more hours a day working in place of their usual commute. The benefits of downtime during the commute have been replaced by extra time in front of the laptop.
While this may sound like positive news for employers from the perspective of increased productivity, organisational psychologists would disagree. It is known that the longer the working hours are, the more opposite effect they have on productivity. In fact, people become less productive and have a higher risk of making serious mistakes after working for long hours, they will eventually need to take longer periods off work to recuperate from high levels of stress. The World Health Organisation recently did a study and found that longer working hours are associated with stroke and ischemic heart disease.
Companies need to train their employees to learn to use the tools which help them maintain personal resilience. It is important for employees to learn how to prioritise activities and when to shut down their laptops for the day.
To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy.
Our recommended reading for this month is First Things First by Stephen Covey.
Putting things first is a time management concept used for many years across the world and is still very relevant today… our recommended reading for this month.
The system focuses on doing what is important rather than what is urgent. It stresses effectiveness rather than simple efficiency as the key to using time management systems to improve quality of life.