“I was watching a TV series on a Saturday when my manager called me on WhatsApp,” Dwight, a young single data analyst, recounted an experience when he worked for a communications service provider.
“I paused the TV…I answered the call. My manager did not think that just because it’s work-from-home, it doesn’t mean I have to work 24/7 at home, right?” he asked.
Dwight is a case respondent for my dissertation, “All Work and No Play? Perspective of Single Professionals without Dependent Children on Work-Life Balance in the Contemporary Workplace: A Multiple Case Study”. I discussed how single professionals without children navigate the complexities of balancing their work and personal activities in evolving work environments, such as flexible work arrangements.
While the COVID-19 pandemic compelled firms to allow employees to work remotely, flexibility practices have been prevalent even before the pandemic. David Guest, a professor of occupational psychology and human resource management at King’s Business School, stated in his 2002 study that flexible arrangements allow employees to manage their personal duties, control work time, and avoid traffic jams.
But given the availability of mobile devices, high-speed internet, and flexible work arrangements, there is greater emphasis on rapid customer response. Customers and management now expect the employees to be available 24/7. Because technology has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life, this has created a unique paradox for single professionals.
On one hand, technology can provide work-life flexibility. Erin, who works for a financial services firm, shared that she does her laundry while attending virtual meetings at home. “It’s easy doing the laundry while you’re at work because you just chug everything and then wait for two to three hours,” she shared. Angela, who is employed at a chemical goods company, can check urgent work requests while on holiday. “If I need to check on something, I can easily access the support phone and send the text message and the email,” she revealed.
On the contrary, technology flexibility might evolve into a 24/7 availability need. A common misconception of single professionals without children is that they have more free time than their married counterparts. But that is not always the case. Single professionals also need time to pursue their interests while tending to the needs of their parents, elderly relatives, friends, and even pets.
Take the case of Toby who works for a bank. One time, Toby brought his laptop to a wedding, expecting to receive a business call during a system migration. “Imagine, you’re wearing a Barong Tagalog, and you’re connected to the VPN (virtual private network)!” he chuckled. Michael works for a school and enjoys reading in his spare time. But he picks up his phone whenever his supervisor contacts him. “When my boss calls, I have to stop whatever personal work I’m doing and attend to it,” he said.
Jim, who works for a global consulting firm, disclosed that one of his office pet peeves is receiving job-related messages from his social media account. He explained, “I avoid that. I don’t want someone from work to contact me through social media, informing me about my work.”
Given the pros and cons, is technology then a boon or a bane for work-life balance? The key to resolving this paradox lies in how we utilize technology.
Stan Parker, one of the founders of the UK’s Leisure Studies Association, claimed in his 1998 study that technology should not be blamed for the blurred lines between work and personal activities. Instead, we should examine how we integrate technology into our current work systems and home habits.
For instance, Erin sets her work boundaries by muting work-related apps. “So from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., that’s the only time that I will get notifications.” Meanwhile, Dwight consciously does not respond to work emails on weekends. He narrated, “You know, you can long hold on an iPhone to preview the message, right? Okay, you messaged me on a weekend, I’ll just respond to it on a Monday.”
Some organizations establish clear work-life boundaries. Meredith, who works for a BPO company, is not obligated to work while on vacation. “They really want us to take a break…I’m not required to attend the call, to answer emails,” she said. Likewise, Dwight does not need to respond to emails outside his work schedule. “You’re only required to answer those when you get back,” he revealed.
Individuals and organizations must recognize the need to establish work-life boundaries to attain a sustainable work-life balance for all types of employees. While technology has enabled us flexible work arrangements, we should not allow its constant availability to overwhelm us.
Just because we are reachable does not mean we are productive. After all, “full-time” job and “all-the-time” job are not the same thing.
Jelica R. Enriquez recently earned her Doctor of Business Administration degree from De La Salle University (DLSU) and is an Assistant Professor at the School of Management and Information Technology at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. She can be reached at jelica.enriquez@gmail.com.
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.
