Are you trading your freedom for a regular paycheck? I realize this is a ridiculous question. But are you?
Review where you spend your time and who has the greatest influence over you. Your spouse, children, other family members, or your employer?
After leaving your workplace, do you find yourself glued to your mobile device returning company email on the weekends while taking your children to lunch or inside the movie theater with your spouse on date night? You’re not fooling your family. Your children are smart enough to realize work is more important than them. You have turned into a Parent-zombie.
And this family disconnect occurs after already spending 50 to 60 hours/week at the office.
“At times, someone with perspective must sound an alarm. In this case, Corporate America is moving the wrong direction. We are headed towards employee e-servitude.”
It seems the expectation among many employers is that exempt employees should or must be available 24/7. This allows corporate leaders to get the most out of each employee by paying the least amount possible.
By accepting your paycheck are you signing over your life to a corporation? As an employer, are you requiring corporate servitude? If so, it is only a matter of time before your people will leave you when the economy turns around.
This practice may not be illegal, but I consider it unethical.
What are strategies to stop this unethical practice of requiring or using peer pressure to force people to work or be available 24/7.
- Value employees as the most important reason for your company’s success.
- Provide work style training to senior executives to emphasize results over spending time in the office. Then provide the same training to managers and supervisors.
- Management by face-time should be banned.
- Management by e-time should be banned.
- Eliminate wasteful meetings – which likely includes most meetings.
- Trust employees. This means allowing employees to leave the office, work from home or any place they deem necessary without question. This also means employees can go on vacation without the expectation of monitoring instant messages, email, voice mail or any social media.
- Schedule a 48-hour company-wide e-fast once each month to prove the world will not end when employees are unplugged.
Graphic Credit: YourSphere.com
