When others stand between you and the Net....
When Wall Street banks forbid their employees to use social media, clever bankers find work-arounds, i.e., using their company-issued BlackBerry for work and their personal iPhone for personal (social) applications and communication.
The Internet may be loosely controlled in some instances, but it is certainly controlled in others. Not that that is a necessarily a bad thing, but it does suggest a new questions about who, when and how much we should control connectivity.
Policies that restrict connectivity or force disconnects often fail, or create unintended consequences. Nevertheless, there are more and more examples of corporate experiments with forced disconnects, like the BCG experiment in Leslie Perlow's book, Sleeping with Your Smartphone.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Type 3 Disconnects - Your Choice
Type 3 disconnects are the good ones, when we choose to disconnect by our own free will.
The extent to which we have 'free will' varies depending our role(s) and the situation we are in. While we all have some choice, we are all somewhat constrained in our choices. Before the Renaissance, it was believed that God determined what would happen to us, and the notion of free will was one of the big break-throughs of the Renaissance. The sociologist Anthony Giddens describes society as an enduring tension between individual agency and social structures, i.e., the norms and social conventions that constrain our free will. For more on actor agency as an attribute of connectivity, click here.
Featured recently in the New York Times was a private school in New England that has for years offered an off-line environment, meaning no cell phones and little or no Internet access to pupils. In the past, this was an easy policy to enforce, but the Internet is coming to town (and country), so some kids are heading off to a corner of the property where they can get a cell signal. Other kids are opting out, saying they like being disconnected from the Net, so they can connect more with things and people around them. The question the school faces is whether to uphold their tradition of being an off-line sanctuary, become mainstream, or to offer their students a choice. To connect or not connect, that is the question. What would you or your kids do in this situation?
When I give lectures and talks on the subject of connectivity, I encourage people to keep their mobile phones 'on.' It's not that I like distraction, but I figure people should make their own choices about when and how to connect.
Updated 9 June: Oliver Burkeman on 'slow computing,' 'the zen of tech,' etc. in the Guardian, 10 May 2103.
See Paolo Cardini's Ted Talk on 'Mono-tasking' (short and funny).
Or, my recent comments on taking your smart phone on (summer) holidays.
Update: 21 April 2013
Tony Schwartz writes on Harvard blog about how it feels to totally disconnect.
And, returning to Henry David Thoreau (from previous post), recall his choice of living at Walden Pond.
'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness out of it and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience...'
The extent to which we have 'free will' varies depending our role(s) and the situation we are in. While we all have some choice, we are all somewhat constrained in our choices. Before the Renaissance, it was believed that God determined what would happen to us, and the notion of free will was one of the big break-throughs of the Renaissance. The sociologist Anthony Giddens describes society as an enduring tension between individual agency and social structures, i.e., the norms and social conventions that constrain our free will. For more on actor agency as an attribute of connectivity, click here.
Featured recently in the New York Times was a private school in New England that has for years offered an off-line environment, meaning no cell phones and little or no Internet access to pupils. In the past, this was an easy policy to enforce, but the Internet is coming to town (and country), so some kids are heading off to a corner of the property where they can get a cell signal. Other kids are opting out, saying they like being disconnected from the Net, so they can connect more with things and people around them. The question the school faces is whether to uphold their tradition of being an off-line sanctuary, become mainstream, or to offer their students a choice. To connect or not connect, that is the question. What would you or your kids do in this situation?
When I give lectures and talks on the subject of connectivity, I encourage people to keep their mobile phones 'on.' It's not that I like distraction, but I figure people should make their own choices about when and how to connect.
Updated 9 June: Oliver Burkeman on 'slow computing,' 'the zen of tech,' etc. in the Guardian, 10 May 2103.
See Paolo Cardini's Ted Talk on 'Mono-tasking' (short and funny).
Or, my recent comments on taking your smart phone on (summer) holidays.
Update: 21 April 2013
Tony Schwartz writes on Harvard blog about how it feels to totally disconnect.
And, returning to Henry David Thoreau (from previous post), recall his choice of living at Walden Pond.
'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness out of it and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience...'
Friday, November 16, 2012
Future of flexible work
Staying with the telework theme, this week was the inaugural 'Telework Week' here in New Zealand and I was invited to a lunch sponsored by Cisco, vodafone and other firms promoting awareness of 'telework,' which really means flexible and mobile work practices.
Anthony Weldon, HR Director at vodafone, NZ described how the company is radically re-thinking work. Along with an expected shift toward mobility, they also have redesigned work space to reflect new, flexible ways of working. It is not so much that it is a perfect solution (some people still like and/or need desks), but the fact that the company is experimenting and taking its own technological advice seriously is an important step into developing new ways of working.
Geoff Lawrie, country manager of Cisco, NZ, gave an enlightening and energizing overview of some pretty impressive trends in global connectivity, much of which can be found in Cisco Connected World report. Or, check out the short video summary of the report's key findings, which will shape the future of work.
For insightful commentary on 'millennials' (derived from the Cisco report), see Ben Stricker's blog.
A colleague in Sydney also shared another recent report on the Future of Work, sponsored by Optus Australia about trends of mobile and other connective technologies looking out 3-5 years.
Anthony Weldon, HR Director at vodafone, NZ described how the company is radically re-thinking work. Along with an expected shift toward mobility, they also have redesigned work space to reflect new, flexible ways of working. It is not so much that it is a perfect solution (some people still like and/or need desks), but the fact that the company is experimenting and taking its own technological advice seriously is an important step into developing new ways of working.
Geoff Lawrie, country manager of Cisco, NZ, gave an enlightening and energizing overview of some pretty impressive trends in global connectivity, much of which can be found in Cisco Connected World report. Or, check out the short video summary of the report's key findings, which will shape the future of work.
For insightful commentary on 'millennials' (derived from the Cisco report), see Ben Stricker's blog.
Stricker's top ten findings of the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report, with findings on the attitudes and behaviors of college students and young professionals from 14 countries:
- One of every three college students and young employees believes the Internet is a fundamental resource for the human race – as important as air, water, food and shelter. About half believe it is “pretty close” to that level of importance.
- More than half of the respondents said they could not live without the Internet and cite it as an “integral part of their lives.”
- If forced to make a choice between one or the other, two of three college students wouldchoose an Internet connection instead of a car.
- Two of five college students said the Internet is more important to them than dating, going out with friends, or listening to music; and more than one in four said saying updated on Facebook was more important than partying/dating/music/friends.
- Two of five said they would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.
- More than half of college students said that if they encountered a company that banned access to social media, they would either not accept a job offer or would join and find a way to circumvent corporate policy.
- If given the choice of either losing their purse/wallet or mobile device, more than half said they’d rather lose their wallet/purse.
- Regarding security-related issues in the workplace, seven of every 10 employees admitted to knowingly breaking IT policies on a regular basis, and three of five believe they are not responsible for protecting corporate information and devices.
- One in five college students admitted standing outside of retail outlets to use free wireless connections.
- One in four experience identity theft before the age of 30, and two of five college students said they know of friends or family members who have experienced identity theft.
A colleague in Sydney also shared another recent report on the Future of Work, sponsored by Optus Australia about trends of mobile and other connective technologies looking out 3-5 years.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
The truth about telecommuting
Mary Noonan and Jennifer Glass have published a report on telecommuting that suggests that the flexibility of telecommuting equates to working more hours.
But, as many of those who work at home will tell you, that is the POINT of telecommuting -- getting more work done! Sometimes that means more hours, and sometimes not, but those additional hours can contribute to performance benefits, as well as a sense of self-efficacy. And, why wouldn't you trade two hours of sitting in traffic with two hours more productive work?
Work-life balance studies often miss crucial contextual elements around technology use. In fact, it is just not that simple. In studies of smart phone use, for example, there are those who make clear and concrete distinctions between 'work' and 'non-work' (e.g., family, friends, hobbies, etc.), and there are also users who blend all communication streams into one big giant pipe of non-stop connective flow. However, many users are 'optimisers,' who use the technology to get stuff done in all realms of their lives, without letting it take over their lives. See MacCormick et al and Dery et al for more on this study.
Work can be meaningful or meaningless, no matter where it takes place. Collocated work can be professionally and socially engaging, but it can also be trivial tasks and socially superficial. And, remote, telework can be isolated drudgery, or an opportunity to make things happen on our own terms.
I am reminded of the words of Henry David Thoreau and his justification for living at Walden Pond.
'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness out of it and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience...'
But, as many of those who work at home will tell you, that is the POINT of telecommuting -- getting more work done! Sometimes that means more hours, and sometimes not, but those additional hours can contribute to performance benefits, as well as a sense of self-efficacy. And, why wouldn't you trade two hours of sitting in traffic with two hours more productive work?
Work-life balance studies often miss crucial contextual elements around technology use. In fact, it is just not that simple. In studies of smart phone use, for example, there are those who make clear and concrete distinctions between 'work' and 'non-work' (e.g., family, friends, hobbies, etc.), and there are also users who blend all communication streams into one big giant pipe of non-stop connective flow. However, many users are 'optimisers,' who use the technology to get stuff done in all realms of their lives, without letting it take over their lives. See MacCormick et al and Dery et al for more on this study.
Work can be meaningful or meaningless, no matter where it takes place. Collocated work can be professionally and socially engaging, but it can also be trivial tasks and socially superficial. And, remote, telework can be isolated drudgery, or an opportunity to make things happen on our own terms.
I am reminded of the words of Henry David Thoreau and his justification for living at Walden Pond.
'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness out of it and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience...'
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