Is Blackberry Balance Healthy?

By Jacey Fortin

Here’s some good news: the history of human work patterns reveals that leisure time is on the rise, and people today work less than ever before.

In a 2010 report, the Economic History Association (EH) noted that “because of the decline in the length of the workweek and the declining portion of a lifetime that is spent in paid work… the fraction of the typical American’s lifetime devoted to work has become remarkably small.”

Sounds great. But if that’s the case, why do so many of us feel that work demands are eating into our personal time?

Technology is blurring the line between work and leisure, and this merits a closer look at the way we define our terms. According to the EH study, working hours consist of “paid work, travel to and from work, and household chores.” But what about that quick inbox check over morning coffee? How about that message you sent to your boss during lunch? And what about the research you did on your smartphone before bed?

Although our time at the office has decreased, the time we spend working has grown in ways that are difficult to measure precisely, and leads to questions about whether all this work on the fly is really good for us psychologically, emotionally, and physically.

Unhealthy Imbalance?

“It’s not healthy at all,” said Cary Cooper, a Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University in the U.K. who has spent his career conducting research on the quality of working life. Over the past decade, the increase in connective technology has caught his attention. “We’re not spending personal disposable time with our family when we’re outside of work,” he said. “We’re gearing ourselves too much to the technology that links us back into work. We’re home physically, but I’m not sure we’re home psychologically.”

A 2010 report released by Zokem [PDF], a mobile consumer research company, presented usage data from more than 10,000 smartphone owners. If you own a smartphone yourself, what they found may not surprise you. “On working days,” said the report, “people start allocating face time on smartphones right when they wake up, on average around 7 a.m., and 10 a.m. on weekends. Usage continues until late evening.”

A healthy work-life balance, then, is harder than ever to conceptualize since work and life are increasingly intertwined. “Work is spilling over into people’s private life,” explained Cooper. “It’s even ruined vacations. Now that we have iPads and iPhones and Blackberries, you can go down to the hotel pool and do your work surreptitiously while the kids are swimming!”

The phenomenon affects both men and women, but not to the same extent. “Technology makes women extremely vulnerable,” said Cooper. “As if a woman who’s trying to juggle looking after kids, elder parents and a job doesn’t have too little disposable personal time! This makes it even worse.”

Women make up more than half of the workforce in many developed countries—the United States included—but they are also still mainly responsible for chores at home. A 2010 American Time Use Survey conducted by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that “on an average day, 84 percent of women… spent some time doing household activities such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or financial and other household management,” compared to just 67 percent of men. And now that technology enables us to bring work home, those two already-demanding worlds are overlapping.

Switching Off

What stops us from hitting the ‘off’ button? It may have something to do with increased job insecurity during the recession. As economies falter all around the world, work is scarce. And those who are employed may find themselves taking on extra responsibilities as their companies downsize. We tell ourselves that now is not the time to relax—now is the time to keep up-to-date, to be the first to respond, to sneak a peek at the BlackBerry during dinner.

The great irony, said Cooper, is that this kind of behavior does not make us more productive in the long run. “If you hit the ‘off’ button,” he said, “you don’t become a less valuable employee. I’ve done meta-analysis on all the studies on hours of work, and if you work consistently long hours, you will get ill. That’s what the global studies show. And it will damage your personal relationships. And finally, it will make you less productive. I’m not saying in a week; I’m talking about consistently working long hours. And if you think about it, this technology is an extension of your work life. Not healthy.”

The implication is counter-intuitive: to be a better worker, it pays to indulge in some down time. Technology is certainly useful, but moderation is key. In the face of mounting pressure to be on point, on time, and online, the key to true balance is knowing when to hit the ‘off’ button.