Does work follow you home?

How much does your job impinge on your home life? Are you expected to check and answer emails in the evening and over the weekend? How much work do you do at home instead of spending time with your family or doing things that you enjoy?

The Regus Work-Life Balance Index surveyed people in 80 countries in terms of work-life balance. Jouman Saad of SME Advisor reports that the UAE’s work-life balance rating is eight points behind the national average. The Index also found that 18 per cent more workers in the UAE than the global average perceive that their home life suffers from work. Seventy-two per cent of UAE workers took up additional duties during the recession.

What do the stress-related health condition statistics say? Dubai residents suffer from deaths due to hypertension at rates three times higher than surrounding states. Doctors report that they see back pain and panic attacks due to stress and that cardiovascular diseases and diabetes exist in record levels in Dubai.

Leslie Perlow conducted some research about unplugging at home. She chose a team of high-powered executives and helped them to learn how to turn off their smartphones just one night a week. The team members, as they experienced the benefits of eking out this down time, held each other accountable, encouraging the off time to stay sacrosanct. In the long run, the team produced better work and become more satisfied with their jobs. The company they worked for saw better engagement, recruitment and retention as the unplug policy spread throughout the organisation.

Some companies are trying to lay down ground rules as far as unplugging and instilling work-life balance for their employees. A Time Magazine article written by Wharton School of Business explains that Atos, a French IT company, schedule Internet and connectivity breaks. Volkswagen deactivated work emails on their employee’s BlackBerries during non-work hours. Deutsche Telekom no longer expects workers to read email after business hours on specific days.

But the real effort has to come from you, from employees themselves and this takes determination. A University of Chicago study found that emails, Facebook and Twitter tweets are more difficult to ignore than cravings for alcohol or cigarettes.

The thing is, studies have also shown that multitasking doesn’t make people more effective or productive.

Working with executives I recommend to set clear and firm boundaries. You can turn off your phone when you’re home. You don’t have to answer every email as they come in. Check your email at certain times during the work day and block out your personal time. Let people know what your boundaries are. Let people know when you are and are not available. You need to talk to your boss when boundaries get blurry. If you’re expected to work more because a project is an emergency or priority, who is to say that the next five projects won’t be more of the same?

You have to commit to yourself in terms of defending your boundaries. You need to unplug and resist the urge to answer every phone call or email. When you’re with your family or friends, when you’re giving yourself personal time, let the multitasking go. You are not productive when you multitask and you need to engage with people around you and with one task at a time.

Don’t become another victim of plugged-in addiction, if you think you are more productive being plugged-in 24/7 its an illusion. Stay focused and work hard during dedicated work time and allow yourself to unwind completely after work. Try it and see the results.

The writer is an executive coach and HR training and evelopment expert. She can be reached at oksana@academiaofhumanpotential.com or www.academiaofhumanpotential.com. Views expressed are 
her own and do not reflect the newspaper’s policy