I’m Always Online… Am I missing something?
I have read this article form Dave Coles, LCDC-ADCII, CEAP about someone who has always been online. He said that there should be a boundary between your life online and your life offline. Separating the two will provide you a better appreciation on what life is.
Riding the shuttle bus to the airport today, I sat next to a young woman who spent the entire trip checking email on her Blackberry. Then, sitting at the gate waiting for my flight to be called, I was surrounded by folks checking email on wifi-enabled laptops and even at pay-for email kiosks.
It reminded me of a young professional who recently told me that the first thing he did every morning on awakening was to check email. He said he was driven to know if someone had emailed him after he had gone to sleep the night before. “I’m beginning to think email might be some kind of addiction,” he lamented.
Certainly, email-enabled devices and wifi-connected laptops have made us much more productive. But feeling the need to be connected 24/7, or being uneasy when not connected, is not necessarily a good thing. It produces stress that actually decreases our ability to work safely and productively. The key, therefore, is to find a workable balance between being connected and having quality “unconnected” time that lets us recharge our mental and emotional batteries.
If you need a bit of help coping with the stress of always being ‘connected’, consider giving the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) a call. You can reach the global EAP by calling 713.753.4646 (or 1.800.636.6221).
EAP has been providing professional assistance to help employees and their family members resolve personal and work problems for more than 25 years. All interactions are held confidential between you and your EAP counselor, except for certain situations such as where there is potential for human harm or legally required reporting.