Social Networking: The Work/Life Balance

How do we balance work and life, or is there such a thing as ‘balance’ in the new economy? Two items come to mind: a Guggenheim Museum nominated YouTube video which urges viewers to unplug from social networking, and an announcement from enterprise social networking company Jive about the ‘18 Social Business Imperatives.’ Between these extremes lies an essential debate for our times: how do we create a productive work force in which a great deal of our lives are spent interacting through electronic media while simultaneously spending enough time off the internet so that we can form ‘real’ human relationships?

Jive’s software could be loosely described as collaborative software, in that its aim is to bridge the gap between employers, employees, and customers through a custom designed social interface. The employees are encouraged to communicate with each other, but also to provide more information about themselves that can be used for ‘social marketing.’ Essentially, Jive is a kind of focused Facebook for the office, building on people’s fascination with one another, and turning that fascination right back into work, and in most cases, profit.

While every employer is entitled to expect their employees to work while at work, the boundaries of what ‘at work’ mean have stretched so far in recent years that many employees never feel that they are not ‘at work.’ Mobile devices enable employees to check their email while on vacation; many offices routinely expect them to do so. While unproductive Facebooking is rampant in many offices, in many environments employees often work 70 hour weeks for 40 hours of pay. There is an imbalance here, and both sides are to blame.

Employers want to cut costs, and employees want to have a life outside of work. Both parties need to have an honest conversation about boundaries. Employers need to structure their enterprises efficiently through more focused and aggressive management. Similarly, employees need to focus their energies and concentrate on getting the work done in a reasonable time frame. However, social networking should have an ‘off’ switch, whether for personal or business use. Setting official ‘off-line’ times, whether on evenings or weekends, should become part of our social lexicon.