'Technology makes it hard to switch off from work'

Are flexible work hours, wireless data cards and smartphones blurring the line between work and home? Are more professionals finding it harder to switch off from work thanks to the new work culture? We invited readers to share how they switch off from work. Here are some of the responses we received. Share your tips!

I am an editor and I handle two publications. Their schedules, timelines, etc do make life a bit more hectic than one desires. However, I follow a few ground rules -- try not to procrastinate, prioritise work as much as possible, cram as much as possible work in to the 8-10 hour day at office -- the result being an increase in my ability to do more in less time, also resulting in very few 'overtimes' in a normal day at work. More importantly, once out of the workplace, I try to ensure that unless it is a really important matter, I do not take work-related calls. I even try resisting the urge to check my official e-mail while at home, so that I do not start thinking of work!

The reason I have done this is because otherwise one really does not leave office even if out physically; and secondly, come on -- it's just the evening that you get before you go to work the next morning!

Technology, according to me, helps, but only to the extent that it enables one to blur the difference between work and home altogether! (Rising divorces...remote possibility, but this might be a reason too!)

That's my take.

-- Diptiman Dewan

The new work culture with multi-utility gadgets and on-hand information technology knocking at your door is amazing. Sometimes it is difficult to cope with as it robs you of your privacy, but most of the time it sticks to today's demands.

Gone are the days of manual messages and handwritten drafted correspondence. Those cabins which would accomadate 50-100 employees have been changed to single cubicles, elegantly designed and updated with all modern facilities.

Internet and text messages have made our day-to-day life easier! Sometimes when there is lots of work, you don't find the need of having all these things around. But when you are tired and need a break you feel any of these modern-day gadgets can serve you as an object of entertainment.

I work as an office clerk, when I have work then I am loaded with all my stuff. When there is no work then I am just enjoying listening of old-hits from the 70s on my computer, or just watch my favourite actress's old movies.

If feel like relaxing and winding of from my work then I just message my boss that I am going to catch up on the recent movie at the near-by theatre!

-- Nalini J Kudalkar

It is the age of data cards and plug-and-play internet connections. Smartphones that let you check e-mail, schedule appointments, even create presentations. Time and location have become virtually irrelevant as everything is now at our fingertips.

Tell us how you are coping with the new work culture. Why you love it and why you don't. How you manage to draw the line between work and home. Write in to getahead@rediff.co.in with the subject 'The new work culture' and we'll publish the responses we receive right here on Rediff.com!