Working for Balance - BlackBerry Backlash
Monday, September 01, 2008PAUL KANGAS: For many people, BlackBerrys and similar e-mail devices are a godsend, letting them stay in touch with the office from almost any location worldwide. But for some people, that constant connection and availability is taking a toll on their personal lives. And as Erika Miller reports, that's sparking a BlackBerry backlash.
MILLER: Go almost anywhere these days, and you'll probably see someone using a BlackBerry. There are currently over 16 million users worldwide, more than double the number of subscribers two years ago. These and other handheld devices have become indispensable work tools, giving users the flexibility to take the office with them wherever they go. But there's a downside to blurring the lines between work and personal time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can get in the way sometimes with personal time with family and significant ones. So my wife tells me that sometime when I'm having dinner, I have to put the thing down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, there's a little bit of expectation, you know, I sent you an e-mail on a Saturday afternoon, how come you didn't respond You know, that sort of thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's at my bedside. (LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm totally -- and I admit it, I'm addicted to the BlackBerry.
MILLER: She's not the only one. That's why the devices have been nicknamed "CrackBerrys." Psychologist Patricia Farrell also warns BlackBerrys can increase stress and anxiety levels.
PATRICIA FARRELL, PSYCHOLOGIST: You are sitting, enjoying some activity, and suddenly the alarm goes off. You are going to jump, I have to take that. But even if the alarm doesn't go off, what you are going to do is you are going to be anticipating it.
MILLER: Accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers is one firm trying to discourage a 24-7 workplace. When workers log on to the company's computer network over the weekend, they see a pop up message asking them to consider sending e-mails the next business day. Carrie Quinn, a partner at the firm, says that simple reminder has had a big impact on her and others.
CARRIE QUINN, PARTNER, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS: I've seen a significant decline in e-mail in the off-hours or the weekends. So I think it is definitely something that is becoming common within the culture of the firm and that people are really taking it seriously, that we all need down time.
MILLER: Dennis Nally, chairman of the accounting firm, says the pop up is part of a bigger business strategy to encourage work-life balance.
DENNIS NALLY, CHAIRMAN, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS: We have now tracked this very clearly, it costs us about 150 percent of an individual's compensation to replace that individual if he or she leaves the organization. So the business imperative as to why you want to get this right, the business case, is very clear to us.
MILLER: There may also be legal reasons companies should limit after hours BlackBerry use. Attorney Glenn Smith believes certain workers, typically rank and file employees, may be entitled to overtime pay for responding to work e-mails after their shifts end.
GLENN SMITH, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEY, LITTLER MENDELSON: I think it is the next generation wage/hour lawsuit that you are going to be seeing, and it's not just limited to BlackBerrys. It's, you know, what are people doing remotely? That might be after hours work. You know, how are they spending their time? Are they actually engaging in gainful employment after hours and not recording it or not being paid for it? MILLER: Smith recommends employers do what his firm did and protect themselves by adopting an explicit BlackBerry use policy, outlining what is permitted and what is not. What is clear is that for better or for worse, mobile technology is here to stay. NYU sociology professor Kathleen Gerson believes we're in the midst of a major social transformation. She points out that before the industrial revolution, home and work were very much intertwined, very similar to the way it is today.
KATHLEEN GERSON, SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: What these new technologies are now doing is, in a sense, taking us back to the future. We are now entering a whole new period in which its going to be more and more difficult to figure out when we are at home, when we are at work place, how we separate out the uses of our time.
MILLER: Some people think the U.S. needs a worker bill of rights, guaranteeing some freedom from the office. Others would like to see something less formal, like an evolution of corporate etiquette that discourages the sending of unnecessary work e-mails after hours. Erika Miller, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.
