{"id":116,"date":"2016-05-31T17:01:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T23:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/purposeinleadership\/?p=116"},"modified":"2016-05-30T13:34:25","modified_gmt":"2016-05-30T19:34:25","slug":"how-do-you-work-in-the-247-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/purposeinleadership\/2016\/05\/31\/how-do-you-work-in-the-247-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Work in the 24\/7 Culture?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

"Photo<\/a>

Photo Credit: Time, by JD, Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The cover of a Harvard Business Review edition recently grabbed my attention \u2014 \u201cManaging the 24\/7 Workplace \u2026 \u2018Always available\u2019 cultures breed problems.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Facing the \u201cAlways Available\u201d Workplace<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure what your work environment looks like, but the reality of the 24\/7 workplace is impacting an increasing number of sectors and an increasing number of employees. Reid and Ramarajan put it this way:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo satisfy those demands [of the high-intensity workplace], employees arrive early, stay late, pull all-nighters, work weekends, and remain tied to their electronic devices 24\/7.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

For a few, this is not necessarily problematic, even though it may not be healthy. These individuals may enjoy the fast-paced work environment that goes along with such a 24\/7-type work culture. For others, the \u201calways available\u201d mode of work life grinds against the core of the work-life balance they desire.<\/p>\n

While such work environments may be most closely associated with the always-on contexts of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, the nature of contemporary work tools expands this reality to most organizations. Regardless of the field within which you work, paying attention to how you manage always-available communication like email and smartphones is an issue that nearly every adult must manage in our age.<\/p>\n

3 Hours of Your Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

One source<\/a>\u00a0indicates that in 2015 the average person in the US spent around 174 minutes on their mobile device per day. This is up from around 22 minutes in 2009<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While some of this dramatic increase is due to browsing social media outlets and watching great things like the latest #chewbaccamom video<\/a>\u00a0(time well-spent of course!), much of this usage is also symptomatic of our \u201calways-available\u201d work expectations.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m definitely on the end of frequently checking email and working to respond to work needs in a timely manner, I\u2019m seeking to be more intentional these days about being intentional with times to step away from work and always-available communication in a balanced manner.<\/p>\n

Intentionality<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are a two targeted scheduling practices I aspire to increasingly move toward in managing a productive and balanced work life:<\/p>\n