I read an article in Forbes today about Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of both Nissan and Reneault, that brought out a point that many people are overlooking today thanks to the ubiquitous communication technology on the market. First a little background...
Working in the Purchasing Department allows employees to learn a great deal about a company and its culture/values simply by the examining the types and quantities of goods and services consumed.
I worked for a large company that at the time had over 2,000 cell phones, about as many pagers and upwards of 1,000 BlackBerry devices all in use. Some individual employees had two or even three of these communication tools. The Purchasing Department received requests daily for new BlackBerry devices. It has been over two years since I was there, so my guess is that the number of BlackBerry devices currently equals or exceeds number of cell phones.
If employees are constantly in touch with colleagues and the office through the BlackBerry, pager, cell phone, and laptop, when do they ever stop? They don't. Whatever task or personal activity they are doing, the interruption/lure of work is always a click, beep, or ringtone away.
In the interview printed in the May 22, 2006 issue, Mr Ghosn was asked by Forbes Detroit Bureau Chief Joann Muller how he balanced his work and family lives. His answer was, "On the weekend I don't bring home work; I don't work on the computer or answer e-mail. ... If there's a job that's harder than being the CEO of two companies, it's being a good husband and father."
That's something to think of next time you reach for one of those communication devices when you're away from work.
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