BROKEN PROMISES

The conveniences of technology have backfired:

- Linda Duxbury, co-author of study, business professor, Carlton University, Ottawa (2002) 2001 National Work-Life Conflict Survey, Linda Duxbury and Chris Higgins: Study commissioned by Health Canada to examine the conflicting demands of Canadians’ work and family lives

The study findings suggest that the conveniences of technology have backfired and raised the demands of the job for many workers beyond what they can handle in a 9-to-5 workday. Duxbury argues that technology is a prime culprit in driving up the incidence of stress, illness, burnout, absenteeism and all other costs eating into technology’s productivity gains. The study is a wakeup call to the price Canadians are paying for bigger workloads and longer hours which, many argue, left unchecked, will result in higher health costs, lower profits and labour unrest.

Productivity paradox:

“We know that people working long hours and using technology to support it are stressed and more likely to be burned out, so the productivity paradox can be explained by the negative side of technology taking away from the positive.”

Full-time accessibility:

“People can now access their work and be accessible by work 24/7, so that’s what the expectations of the job are.”

Communication blitz:

“Just because you can reach people quicker does not mean they can perform the task quicker. What’s happened is the ability to communicate has increased tremendously, but the ability to get the job done has not gone up at the same pace.”

- Linda Duxbury, business professor, Carlton University, Ottawa (2002)