The most precious commodity

Time in todays society is seen as a commodity more than anything, especially in the professional work environment. As discussed by Barbara Adam in her piece ‘Finding Time in a Digital Age’ there are certain aspects of life such as work which are accelerating the fastest, primarily due to technology.

This concept of work is one that concerns me very much so, and I have talked about time and time again in my own pieces of writing. Whilst the foreseen future was one whereby labour and human interaction in the workplace was diminished and limited, the trend has definitely taken a full 360 degree turn since developing those ideas. Whilst there are definitely industries becoming more automated and less reliant on paid worker contributions, for the most part the ‘human touch’ is still needed and is very prevalent in almost every industry.

The main issues that I would like to deal with are those surrounding the idea of ‘presence bleed’ and the consequences and implications that a concept such as this entails.

‘Presence Bleed’ is another way to describe working outside of paid work hours. For instance, those emails that you read or reply to at night when you have time after having a break, or those calls that you answer outside of your billed hours that you are paid for.

Industries, in particular communication industries are finding this much more prominent, and a more common occurrence than previously, due to advancements in technology. These advancements pave the way for easier access to employees outside of hours they are required to help under contract.

Whilst all of this may make a company more productive and create further growth for the company, and perhaps the individual within the company, where does it end? When does the job that you are hired to do cease and when does it begin? These hard questions must be asked by not only people suffering from this issue, but everyone, as work is not the be all and end all of everything. It is just the beginning.

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