Thoughts @

work life balance

At the 3GSM conference held in Barcelona this week, the results of a survey on work/life balance was released by Visto, a US mobile email company. The survey was conducted in three countries and was focused on how mobile is affecting the lifestyles of mobile professionals. The theme resonates closely with gotomedia’s mission statement “exeed expecations and take vacations.”

The survey, conducted with mobile professionals in the US, UK and Italy, shows that 80 per cent of mobile professionals want the ability to work flexibly, with users viewing mobile email as a key tool. Additionally, 70 per cent of respondents want the ability to access both professional and personal email on the same device to better manage work life balance issues

Not a surprise. In a related study currently being conducted called “Mobile Lives” in the US, Singapore and Finland, ethnographic-based research methods are being used to gain insight into the mobile lives of each country. Three companies specializing in usability and mobile research are investigating amongst other topics how cultures are utilizing this notion of “Always On” and how it affects their work/life balance, or blurs the line between. We will be releasing our findings in the next few months.

Visto Mobile 5.5 is a solution created by the company to allow easy toggling back and forth between your personal and business email. It is part of an initiative called worklife.freedom and is focused on helping mobile professionals manage their information while on the go. This concept works well for those who keep their work and personal email separate. Many companies require this as a standard practice, however I suspect that just as in life, the lines between the two are often blurred. From the web site:

Visto Mobile delivers access to both personal and professional information from anywhere at any time, providing busy users with a more flexible work situation and streamlined communications. Included in Visto’s offering is support for multiple inboxes, a unique capability that makes it possible to toggle back and forth between business and personal email on the same mobile device. Users also have the flexibility of searching through the corporate directory and personal contacts from their phone, making it easier to send and receive email while away from the office. On the weekend, the user can elect to only read personal email from their ISP account – or not – it’s all about choice.

So the question remains, do mobile devices and the ability to be available nearly 24/7 with services such as mobile IM, SMS and mobile email allow for a work/life balance to be achieved? Or are we setting ourselves up for mobi-holic treatments down the line? Feedback and insights into how this translates in different cultures and businesses are welcome.

Posted on February 15th, 2006 in Thoughts
Tagged as , ,
Written by Kelly Goto

3 Responses to “work life balance”

Comments

  1. Martin says:
    February 15th, 2006

    As a 24/7 “technical” availability is reality today uers need to have the ability to control when/where they are available independently of the technical possibilities. That includes turning a mobile phone off or screening calls on the one side and accepting on the other side that people are not always reachable despite the technology. If users on both ends don’t learn to do this, most will be ultimately frustrated with the advances of mobile technology.

  2. Mark says:
    February 15th, 2006

    For me, I’m able to extend my workday by handling work email on the train, while being able to head out at a reasonable hour guilt-free and in touch, getting home sooner.

    It wouldn’t be much fun without having personal email too, though. Here’s how I do it:

    - T-mobile Sidekick
    - checks one gmail acct by POP (my personal acct)
    - that acct has numerous others fwd’d to it
    - work email (Lotus Notes) is set up on the server to copy all email to my gmail
    - gmail filters isolate accts in the Inbox so I’m not seeing things redundantly

    After going through all those steps, I’d have to agree the subject of the post is a practical goal!

  3. Kelly says:
    February 15th, 2006

    Mark, thanks so much for your reply! I have to say that I feel great freedom with my mobile as well, knowing that friends and colleagues can reach me even when roaming in another country - it is a tether I can carry and also count on for emergencies. I do not however have my regular email coming to my mobile phone - I’m afraid that would kill my memory card and would drive me a bit batty. I have a Sony Ericsson P910a and love the keypad and portability. I encourage others to comment!

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