24/7 Workplace Connectivity: A Hidden Ethical Dilemma

Presented by Charles F. Piazza

Business and Organizational Ethics Partnership

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University on

January 23, 2007

24/7 Workplace Connectivity: A Hidden Ethical Dilemma

Introduction

‘Extreme’ Jobs on the Rise. Marilyn Gardner, The Christian Science Monitor, December 4, 2006

Flextime Sham: “Flextime” and “Part time” Used To Mean Fewer Hours. Not Anymore.

Sharon Liveten, Pink Magazine, June/July 2006

Always on the Job, Employees Pay with Health. The New York Times, September 5, 2004

Overwork in America: When the Way We Work Becomes Too Much

Ellen Galinsky, The Family and Work Institute, 2004

Laptop Slides Into Bed in Love Triangle The New York Times, August 24, 2006

Please Don’t Make Me Go On Vacation.

The New York Times, August 10, 2006 These headlines and article titles, many from the popular press, capture today’s work climate. For many, work is a 24/7 endeavor. With laptop and cell phone in hand, employees are always connected to their workplace, ready to deal with what ever issues emerge no matter what time or day of the week. This is in addition to the long hours they may already be physically spending in the office. The twenty-first century corporation has a global reach, and competes in a fast-paced, ever-changing world-wide business climate. To be agile and responsive to economic and market demands, many business enterprises establish working partnerships with other companies, disperse their operational units throughout the world, develop a global workforce, and collaborate via complex electronic information and communication systems. Functioning with a 24/7 work mentality, organizations are information-driven, socio- technical entities—human-digital work systems—that often are experienced as a seemingly endless series of conversations, decisions, tasks and projects. With information and communication technology (ICT) having become integral to the workplace, the human person and the business’s ICT are one, unified system. With this, a new type of workplace and worker has been created.

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In dispersed business enterprises the workplace is not defined by a designated location, but by the worker’s presence and attention to the task being conducted. Effective information flow and dynamic interactive connectivity are fundamental elements, making it necessary for

managers, staffs and team members to be available 24/7 to share information when needed, and address issues when they arise. The digitization of the workplace is changing the human experience of work in radical ways that have far reaching ramifications for present day employees, successful business operations, social health, as well as future generations. The profile of the 24/7 workplace is one of an organization that is in operation around the clock, where managers, staffs and teams always stay connected to the workplace, and managers have power beyond the physical office. Thus, the organization essentially “never sleeps,” and employees never totally “go off duty.” In light of this business strategy, how can work be conducted as if people authentically mattered? How can dynamic organizations function so employees are perceived as valued human beings, and not exploited by the organization’s agility and technology applications? What organizational cultural values are needed to guide businesses in developing operational and managerial practices so people do not become mere mechanical components of a large scale workplace digital information and communication system? How can organizations aid managers and staff members in their striving for economic and performance excellence, while not losing sight of the significance of non-work relationships, sacrificing their health, or letting go of personal interests that are meaningful to them? In today’s dispersed business climate, work-life balance is a complex issue. Its successful resolution can only be achieved by the conscious attention from both employees and employers. Because of the significant concerns that business ICT applications raise, the position this essay takes is that organizations have a responsibility, like with other workplace health and safety issues, to ask questions about information and communication systems applications’ impact upon employees’ work-life balance. Understanding and limiting digital technology’s ill effects on workers’ health and relationships must become a recognized priority. Managers and employees can then work together to design and implement information and communication systems, and organizational practices that are beneficial to the business’ operations, but less intrusive in workers’ home life and leisure time. In this manner, productivity and performance can be high quality, and work meaningful and satisfying. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to heighten the awareness of the importance of critically reflecting upon the impact of business ICT application on the workforce, and its creation of 24/7 connectivity. While raising more questions than providing answers, the aim is to encourage an honest grappling among members of the business and academic communities about how digital technology is transforming the nature of contemporary work life, and the ethical concerns arising from the digitalization of the workplace. The intent of this discussion is not to bash corporations that focus their energies on having the highest competitive advantage possible, or to judge professionals who thoroughly enjoy making work their life’s number one priority and always being available to address work issues. By presenting insights gained from a review of existing research and from conversations with corporate leaders and working adults in university graduate programs, the hope is to promote an ongoing dialogue that:

Examines the ramifications of the 24/7 work environment on current workers, their families, and future generations.

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Encourages business professionals to discern potential consequences of technological applications before implementing them in the workplace.

Aids in the development of organizational policies and practices regarding 24/7 connectivity that authentically respect employees as individuals with personal lives and relationships, and protect their physical and psychological well-being.

Fosters the creation of a healthy, less stressful workplace where employees find work engaging, meaningful and satisfying, and less intrusive than some present day work environments.

A Snapshot of the 24/7 Workplace

Organizations have often been analyzed from the vantage point of their structures, human resources, political and power systems, and cultures (Bolman and Deal, 2003). When examined through the lens of communication, an ever-evolving, intelligent, socio-technical network is revealed. Many of today’s employees “think for a living” (Davenport, 2005). They are always accessing gathered data, sharing insights learned from experience, being innovative, handling complex issues, and striving to make well-informed decisions. This is particularly true for management level professionals. Some of the organizational hallmarks of this information-driven

networked business enterprise are: Highly competitive business arena where time equates to gaining market advantage

and saving money. Dispersed organizational units with a global workforce. Culture characterized by speed, agility, responsiveness and innovation. 24/7 operational mentality and practice. Collaborative, team-oriented, multitasking work strategy. Feedback-oriented and innovative knowledge commons work climate. Teleworking operational practice with flexible work hours. A symbiotic relationship between people and technology, particularly information and

communication systems. Continuously evolving networks and being available as needed.

In the dispersed business enterprise with its flexible work environment, people are working different schedules, and are often in different time zones. Effectively, business operations never cease; for, metaphorically speaking, the company does not “close its doors” at the end of the work day. No matter when decisions need to be made, or emergencies arise, they need to be addressed in a timely fashion. Such an operation requires a high level of connectivity and employee availability to function efficiently and successfully. Such access needs to be able to reach beyond the traditional workplace office, making the customary 9- to-5 workday no longer feasible. In this 24/7 workplace where set timeframes and workspaces are discarded, employees focus on being productive, and have become accustomed to always performing. They gauge their performance by its speed, cost-effectiveness, high quality and customer satisfaction. Employees are always connected, never totally go “offline” because they continuously think about, monitor, work on, and/or are available to deal with work issues. For some, non-work modes of existence even vanish.

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Professionals I have spoken with over the years fall into one of four categories regarding their stance about the 24/7 workplace and being constantly connected.

Some find this work style professionally enjoyable, exciting, engaging and psychologically rewarding.

Then there are those who acknowledge its extreme demands, but feel that this form of work environment is necessary for today’s competitive, dispersed business enterprise.

Others question the 24/7 workplace and find its work environment unsatisfying, but feel that they must accept it to retain their jobs, stay financially secure, and be able to provide for their families and retirement years.

Lastly, there are those employees who do not want to work in this manner, and choose to establish an alternative work manner that reduces the availability and workload demands.

No matter which position one has, it is important to be aware of the ramification of business ICT applications and 24/7 connectivity. The reason is simple. Technology is a major factor in the transformation of how we interact with colleagues, multitask and handle work duties, configure relationships, address family responsibilities, and approach recreation time. Various technologies are definitely benefiting organizations and aiding employees perform their jobs. They are also contributing, though, to workplace stress, a feeling of being overworked, and a sense of not being able to focus on one task and do a quality job. Workers are being marginalized from their families (Galinsky, et. al, 2004), and isolated from their non-work friends. Further, workers are increasingly unable to physically or mentally divorce themselves from job responsibilities. 24/7 work requirements and virtual modes of operation are affecting employees’ health and personal life. Workloads are increasing, making multitasking even more imperative. Professionals are working longer hours at the office, and then continue to work at home. Home activities are interrupted by work phone calls. Project team members consult with each other on weekends. Commute time is used to check in with staff members, handle clients, or catch up on work phone calls. Sick days and vacations are not being taken regularly. In essence, the worker is becoming a component of the business’s electronic information system, and a cog in the organizational machinery. In the 24/7 workplace, the human element is being lost. Human Dignity and the Framing of Workplace Ethical Questions Working and being available 24/7 has many ramifications. It affects: 1) civic involvement, 2) business performance, 3) relationship stability, 4) parenting quality, and 5) personal health. Workplace stress is on the rise, and is impairing employees’ health. This is particularly true for white-collar professionals, because they have major job responsibilities, work under pressure, and have a tendency to not take long vacations to recuperate, if they take them at all. The International Labor Office, an agency of the United Nations, states in Economic Security for a Better World (Standing, et. al., 2004) that increasing work stress and job demands are occurring in many countries throughout the world. This report also predicts that the occupational diseases of the twenty-first century will be heart attacks, strokes and suicide.

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Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek (Hewlett and Luce, 2006), a recent study published in the Harvard Business Review, points out that 44% of high earning professionals feel that the pace of their jobs is extreme. In Overwork in America: When the Way We Work Becomes Too Much (Galinsky, et. al., 2004), the Families and Work Institute

reports that one in three employees are chronically overworked. 89% feel that their job is very demanding, and, at times, there is not enough time to get the job done. 36% of those considered highly overworked experience extreme levels of stress, with 48% of them feeling that their health is poor. Only 41% of those highly overworked believe that they are effective at taking sufficient care of themselves, while 21% of this category has symptoms of clinical depression. The study further notes, that only 14% of the U.S. workforce takes an extended vacation of two weeks or more. 37% takes less than a 7-day vacation. One in five employees does job related work while on vacation. Because of the work that accumulates while they are gone, 43% feel overwhelmed when they return. 39% of employees feel a sense of anger at their employers for expecting too much. Studies also indicate that such work habits are affecting family life. In ‘Extreme’ Jobs on the Rise, Marilyn Gardner (2006) points out that we live in a culture that idealizes extreme behavior, and is one of the motivating factors for over a third of highly paid professionals to work more than 60 hours per week. Besides eating and sleep habits, such work routines significantly impact quality relationship time, involvement with parenting children, and engaging in family activities. When work becomes such a demanding priority, choices have to be made, and some things suffer. As reported in the Families and Work Institute’s National Study of the Changing Workforce (Bond, et. al., 2002), jobs are increasingly interfering with family responsibilities and their well-being. Thus, 24/7 workplace connectivity raises many questions for both workers and business leaders. Among them are:

Does the work day ever come to a close? Can one be “offline or out of touch” and still be a responsible employee? Are vacations possible? Can one ever afford to be sick? How does one follow career aspirations and obtain financial stability, while taking

family responsibilities seriously? What is the responsibility of an employer to ensure that work and personal time

boundaries are established so health and well-being are maintained? What are the organizational cultural values that enable a business to foster

sustainable work-life balance? How can ICT be applied in business situations in a manner that promotes quality of

life? Keeping these pressing questions in mind, this essay turns to articulating a virtue ethic framework that can enable business leaders foster organizational cultural values that foster employee well-being and quality of life in a socio-technical environment. From a virtue ethic perspective, people have an inherent right to pursue the good life, and seek their fullest potential. They also have a right to be treated with dignity, and not be devalued. These notions are clearly set forth in the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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A business enterprise that subscribes to a virtue ethic approach would not want to deny or be an impediment to these rights, and, as a human institution, would seek to uphold them. Human resource laws and regulations concerning discrimination, harassment, violence and safety are a testament to the organization’s requirement to create a humane work

environment that treats all with the dignity they inherently deserve. An organization, as well as its individual members, has a responsibility to treat members of the workforce with dignity, respecting their rights and fostering their well-being. Since employee’s have a right to a physically and psychologically safe and healthy work environment, the psychological ramifications of a 24/7 connected workplace alone are cause enough for business leaders to take seriously the need to be aware of ICT’s impact upon workers. Further, virtue ethics is about character and making choices. It is not a prescriptive stance, but a call to discern and seek higher standards, to be critically reflective, to act in a praiseworthy manner, and challenge oneself to realistically live the ideal. In regards to the workplace, it is a call to conduct business and work in a socio-technical world as if people are its stakeholders. It is a challenge to gauge business success not by the mere following of pragmatic business and management principles, but by being a worker, a manager, or a business leader with integrity who makes a lasting contribution. It is a challenge to establish an organizational culture and work environment that enables people to align their talents and energies with the business’ goals, work to their fullest potential, and live meaningfully. Respect and human dignity are fundamental to work satisfaction and a productive work environment. Being a socially conscious and responsible organization includes not creating work practices that adversely affect employees, their partners, and their families. Employees are entitled to a sense of autonomy and independence, enabling them to have a sense of integrity, fulfillment, and happiness in their work. They have a right to be able to shape their work, including the direction and format it takes. These are important concepts to integrate into an organization’s culture, even though many employees only work for the money. A job should not be dehumanizing, even if an individual does not see their job as their “life work.” The human person can easily be forgotten or lost in a technical business environment because technology and profits can easily take over, making the workforce mechanistic, and the worker an expendable commodity. Thus, keeping human dignity in the forefront of a business enterprise enables it to remain cognizant of the above human rights and values. In a socio-technical organizational system, dignity relates to the establishment and maintenance of a balanced system that does not demean the human person, nor make the person a cog in a machine, or a processing chip on a motherboard in a digital information system. Dignity is about creating and sustaining the work rhythm so the worker is not exploited or harmed, and, if so desired, has a full life outside of the workplace. It is about fostering a harmonious and compatible relationship between people and the machines they use, so both the worker and the organization can reach their full potential and dreams, and workers are enabled to maintain and nourish the relationships and interests that are meaningful to them. From this vantage point dignity is about the well-being of the organizational system in general, and the human element in particular. Business technologies, then, complement employees, and enhance the work experience. ICT should free them to do their best work and improve both the quality and experience of work. Technology is never to control or enslave. Thus, ICT applications and organizational practices are to maintain a healthy work environment where implemented technical devices and systems do not harm the employee in any way, nor create a debilitating workload.

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In light of this, worker dignity is about balance and boundaries in the business organizational system. Attention to worker dignity shapes business strategies, organizational dynamics and communication, managerial practice, and work habits. It is the guiding principle for how organizational power over the employee is exercised. It is the norm by which job expectations and requirements, ICT applications, and availability expectations are benchmarked. Worker dignity is about who has ownership of the employee’s life—the individual or the employing company. It is about the employee having ownership and control of his/her own life and work style, and setting boundaries to the organization’s power and the manager’s presence in one’s personal and home life.

Worker dignity is about orienting work around life, and not vice-versa. It is about giving family members and non-work colleagues a significant presence and voice in a one’s life, and a claim on one’s time as one sees fit. Thus, human dignity in the workplace is concerned with recognizing and valuing the human aspect of a socio-technical organizational system when discussing the business enterprise:

Seeing the employee holistically, a human being who is more than just a worker. Understanding the significance of solitude, social interaction, family

relationships, civic engagement, and recreation for a person and his/her well- being.

Accepting that people have a right to direct and control their own lives, and shape their livelihoods in a personally meaningful manner.

Reclaiming that work is about meaningful occupation, not merely a means for personal survival and organizational profit.

Developing human-centric information and communication systems that enhance and serve humankind.

While values hold out standards, they also can create a forum for reflection because of the thought-provoking questions they raise. The notion of human dignity points towards related values that encompass well-being, rights, power and equity of resources. As outlined below, human dignity, coupled with these four values, can serve well as guiding ethical lenses when implementing ICT and establishing work-life balance practices in a 24/7 work environment.

Enhances Human Dignity. Do workplace practices and/or the organization’s utilization of ICT dehumanize the user or anyone associated with him/her? Do they create an unreasonable workload? Is the quality of life and/or work diminished by the creation and deployment of this practice, technology, or information system?

Fosters Health and Well-being. Do workplace practices and/or ICT impair— physically or emotionally—the well-being or livelihood of those that employ them? Do they harm, in any way, the worker’s family, friends, etc.? Do they lower organizational morale, create anger towards the organization or colleagues, or diminish organization’s spirit or community networking?

Safeguards Human Rights. Will any commonly recognized human rights be lost or violated by the engagement in these workplace practices, or the use of this ICT? Does the technology or practices exploit the generosity of employees and their personal resources?

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Promotes Appropriate Use of Power. Will any individual or group potentially be disenfranchised or discriminated against due to the application of this practice or technology? Is an in appropriate use of power allowed or created by this

practice or technological application? Does the organization and management in appropriately intrude into the employee’s home life and non-work time?

Advocates Equity of Resources. Are any individuals or groups—corporate, civic, or international—disadvantaged or deprived of needed resources by the nature of this system or the practices that surround it?

Ethical Issues and Concerns With this discussion of human dignity, rights and a safe workplace as a backdrop, let’s examine more closely the 24/7 workplace and the issues that lead to overwork, burnout and the loss of ownership of one’s life and private time.

Knowledge work is different from physical labor. It is more difficult to “leave work at the office,” because job tasks are portable, plus work stays with one mentally and emotionally. As economic and market dynamics continue to shift, business becomes more competitive and fast-paced, and the need to work in a “lean” manner increases, managers more and more play on this dynamic, expecting employees to be available and work during off hours. Employees take this 24/7 expectation seriously, perceiving it as a job requirement. If they disagree or encounter a family situation that would hinder them working 24/7, they rarely say anything for fear of losing their job or future career opportunity. As competition in the business arena increases, and the global organizational structure becomes the norm, fewer opportunities for not working in a 24/7 environment are possible.

Nine common threads that run through the workplace illustrate the condition in which workers perform their duties.

A synthetic, continuously morphing work environment fashioned by organizational strategies, market demands, managerial expectations, workloads and job requirements, resulting in a reduction of job predictability and stability that contributes to workplace stress.

An organizational strategy, structure and management practice founded upon accessibility and communication, resulting in the need for 24/7 connectivity that is creating a sense of urgency and expected immediate response to workplace communiqués.

The integration of digital information systems and technologies into the very fabric of work and business operations, resulting in the worker becoming dependent upon and ultimately being identified with digital technology.

A continuous flow of information that has developed an information glut, times creating a state of being overwhelmed, thus parallelizing workers and inhibiting them from being able to locate needed information and effectively performing their jobs.

Simultaneously participating in more than one meeting or project network via electronic information and communication systems, therefore lessening workers’ attentiveness and concentration on the particular task at hand.

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The perception in the business arena that work is the primary life task, causing employees to choose between a successful career and an enriching private life, between work duties and family responsibilities, between financial stability and meaningful non-work work interests.

The blurring of the boundaries between the workplace and home, leading to the loss of the distinction between work time and personal time.

The encroachment of organizational and managerial presence into employee’s personal life, resulting in the worker’s loss of control over his/her life and schedule.

The inability of workers to separate themselves from the presence of work and its duties and demands, causing them to not always take sick days and vacation time when needed.

Thus, the ethical issues that surround the worker are associated with five areas: availability and workload, employment requirements, work resources, health and livelihood, information processing and overload. Tables 1 outlines the particular characteristics of these areas. Table 1.

Ethical Impact on Workers Associated with 24/7 Work Connectivity While not an exhaustive list, key ethical concerns include: Availability and Workload.

1) Need to always be available to lead, provide input, problem-solve, collaborate in work that is ongoing or arises from a crisis, 2) Expected to be a subject matter expert (SME) or knowledgeable, experienced employee to project teams or other employees, 3) Short project timeframes, or target timelines to retain a competitive advantage position, or desired market share, 4) Too much work to complete or information to process in an eight-hour, five-day work week, 5) Working with a global workforce, or in a dispersed organization requires one to be available or work during nontraditional hours, on holidays, weekends, etc., and 6) Travel time.

Employment Requirement.

1) Availability expected, 2) Job grows to fill availability, 3) Work until job is completed is expected, and 4) Subject matter expert (SME) to the company at large as needed.

Work Resources.

1) Short staffed, 2) Limited resources, 3) Use personal equipment and home space for work, and 4) Not always compensated for all hours worked.

Health and Livelihood.

1) Prioritize work, company loyalty and business success over personal health, quality family time, and valued relationships, 2) Unable to psychologically and emotional disconnect, and 3) Unable to take sick days, vacation time, etc.

Information Processing and Overload.

1) Glut of information, 2) Work paralysis due to overload, and 3) Cannot stop processing information and ideas when away from work.

The ethical dilemmas that managers face are rooted in the current highly competitive business climate and the blurring of the …

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