Does working in IT mean independence?

The agility of IT roles: is greater flexibility afforded by technology and IT careers a benefit or a burden?

Technology roles or tech-adjacent jobs are increasingly prevalent on the labour market. Current statistics for the USA show that net tech employment accounts for roughly 8% of the US job market, while the technology sector is the second biggest industry sector in the country; one that dramatically drives growth for US GDP. In Europe, 21% of all enterprises in the EU reported employment and demand for high-level ICT specialists in 2022. The issue that increasingly arises though is how to make the output of IT and other tech professionals (and also employees in general) consistent and continuously productive. It’s good to have IT as a disruptor and a force reshaping the global economy, but there is also a need to manage work expectations with downtime to ensure employee well-being, satisfaction and loyalty.

Rethinking working hours

The biggest challenge for maintaining proper work-life balance in the tech industry is defining when and when not to work. With devices all around us, it is simply too easy to check our emails, verify online reports and project statuses and do team check-ins. However, at a time when roughly 31% of tech employees report feeling a risk of potential burnout, it is important that all employees have the option for downtime and space to regenerate. As with any other device we use, our minds become less productive over time if they do not get needed hours to regroup and clear their work operational memory. The best approach to defining working hours with employers and work teams is to speak openly about project needs, work deadlines and other challenges that fellow team members have. You can create a satisfied team in this regard by encouraging open dialogue about what hours the company expects from its tech teams and what personal or life needs have to be addressed alongside that. If work processes allow for hybrid or remote work arrangements, then allow employees to work where and when they are most productive. Alongside this, set up fixed times for on-site team meetings for work planning and reporting.

Setting limits and enforcing that they are respected

Another feature related to the above is setting hard on/off rules for working hours. This includes agreeing a list of situations where team flexibility is required. In today’s world of multiple communications and messenger apps, it is simply too easy to do random check-ins and send messages. To keep work-life boundaries intact, it is critical to have "no immediate response needed" guidelines and to indicate that clearly in specific messages or other communications. The key process impact here involves assuring employees that they do not have to be actively working outside office hours (unless they choose to do so for personal reasons) and that they should feel no guilt for replying within agreed work hours.????????????????????????????????????????????

Psychological support for change environments

Equally important to a supportive, balanced work environment for tech employees (and employees in general) are efforts to deliver psychological and emotional support in a world where technological advancements mean work processes are constantly changing. Normally, tech employees are quite avid fans of change and big supporters of innovation, but continuous change can take its toll on anyone. That’s why just like with the boundary-setting element of work-life balance planning, it is important to provide mental well-being support for employees and discuss how they are coping with the changes coming at them. Are they feeling good about AI tools entering the workplace? Are they supportive of automation and understanding how tech tools can support, and not necessarily take away, their jobs? Although it’s likely that most IT employees will have an open, welcoming attitude to new advances, there is so much change going on in the world at the moment (both tech-related and non-tech-related) that a good employer will check up on employees’ moods and concerns. Even the most resilient tech afficionados can eventually hit a wall. And this impacts not only their job, but also family life, interaction with friends and more.

Learning to walk away from work tools

The final element in maintaining work-life balance, at least from my current perspective, is knowing how to limit time spent with devices. The biggest challenge in today’s world of work is the blurred demarcation between office and home life. And because all of our devices have become work-play tools, it is increasingly difficult not to go down the rabbit hole of checking on work tasks, even when we’re playing our favourite online game or browsing through photos from our weekend at the lake. It is sometimes truly hard not to step over the work-life boundary. But we need to avoid doing so in order to ensure our continued high-level office productivity and strong creativity while on the job.

We’re in a very specific moment in redefining work roles and structures in our post-pandemic society. Technology, during the limitations of the pandemic, allowed us to keep working and keep the global economy going to a large degree. However, it also blurred barriers between work-time and downtime. It is important that we as individuals remain the masters of our tech tools and know when to turn them off. There’s nothing wrong with that: tomorrow is another (work) day.