BlackBerry Users Say They Have More Family Time* (in a weekend email)

*There's an important distinction between what people say and what they do. So I was a bit surprised to see that it looked like New York Times columnist David Pogue fell for a somewhat bogus survey of BlackBerry users.

David is a sharp observer, so I think he let this one slip by on purpose. Sometimes journalists pass along information even when it seems dodgy. And I did note rising scepticism as his post progressed on wireless email users. Among the findings:

• 40% said BlackBerry increases their available family time;
• 48% said it left them with about the same amount of time;
• 12% said it decreased family time.

My take is that 88% of the people were either lying to the survey-takers or lying to themselves and family. (Personal bias and confession: I am a long-term BlackBerry user; I think the tool is indispensibe for me; And I struggle mightily with the work/family balance.)

I was similarly shocked at Wireless Enterprise Symposium, the annual Blackberry technology conference last month, when a group of market researchers identified the work/family balance issue as one of the biggest challenges for BlackBerry users, but the panel basically said how to manage this issue was a personal one. Employers, managers, etc. were off the hook.

So galling is the lie of modern technology, that I felt compelled to do my own survey of BlackBerry users this past weekend, which included Fathers' day.  (Like I said, I struggle with balance.) I sent a brief email to 50 people with the subject 'Quick work question,'  asking whether BlackBerry and similar tools freed up or cut into family time.

Never mind for now what people said for now (we'll discuss that later); Look at what they did:

• 32% responded on the weekend;
• More than 20% replied within two hours;
• 6% replied while on a holiday or at vacation spots.
• 14% replied Monday morning.

Maybe the people I know are especially kind in offering the favor of a quick reply. But I think their actions get at an important issue: Devices like BlackBerry, blogs, the web, etc. are 24/7 business tools and we are increasingly in a work world that requires (or makes people feel it requires) instantaneous information. Feeding the beast is a 24/7 job.

Ten years ago, fewer people worked in that kind of world: Some investment professionals, high-flyinge executives and emergency-room doctors, perhaps.  Today many more sectors are operating this way. That's why BlackBerry sales are soaring.

To me, this trend towards instantaneous information represents one of the major management challenges ahead as more 24/7 tools emerge, like blogs.

Organizations that are increasingly turning to 24/7 tools and remaking themselves into more interactive, responsive organizations need to understand how the role of the manager and the role of the corporation is changing. It's not about whether 24/7 business or wireless email is good or bad.  It just is.

But in my opinion, the organizations that make optimal use of these tools will thrive.  The organizations that fail to properly use these tools will lag.  By making use of the tools, I am not just referring to work/family balance. Consider how each of these apparently personal issues can be moved from the personal to the organizational level:

• Filtering and reducing spam;
• Prioritizing information and actions;
• Dealing with conflicting information;
• Identifying experts quickly;
• Creating 'noise' free opportunities for employees and managers to think;

One example: When I joined a multinational corporation in 2001, I was shocked to observe that internal communications by email were crippled because people were drowning in internally-generated-spam. And I don't mean 'garage sale' announcements, etc. Employees received dozens and in some cases hundreds of automated emails every day depending on what teams they worked in or what their interests and responsibilities were.  As a result, if you wanted to communicate to other employees, you couldn't email them because nobody could keep up with their inboxes.  (Add to that, the harassing announcements from the IT department for people to clean out their inboxes because of storage costs.) To me, this is an organizational problem, not a personal issue.

**Other views**
In an email, technology Strategist Pip Coburn, who is undoubtedly a more balanced person than me, points out that multiple outcomes are possible:

"These technologies generate a wide variety of results including being with one's family more AND simultaneously being available to work as and when one wishes. Undoubtedly there are many people unable to balance these options in a way that generates a better life. It may be "you" and it may be that you see it in someone else. If the goal in life is the pursuit of happiness these are tools that can contribute but you better watch out or just the opposite result will be quickly achieved."

WSJ technology columnist Walt Mossberg delivered a compelling speech last week in which he identified the evolution of 24/7 information as the major societal change.

In 10 years, and we won’t talk about “going on the Internet” or “going online”. The Internet will become 24/7 for everyone. We should begin thinking about the Internet like the electrical grid. You can plug a huge number of things into the grid, but we don’t talk about being “on the electrical grid”.

Comedian Rick Mercer has a great satirical video on BlackBerry culture, highlighting the strangely compelling nature of the phenom.

If you like the BlackBerry helmet ad, you may enjoy the other video archives at Mercer's site.

**Late Addition**

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has a research report on family stress caused by cellphones and pagers. Also summarized on MedicineNet.

**Survey comments**

I thank everyone for their responses.  Many said they appreciated the flexibility of BlackBerry and several commented on a blurring of lines between work and family time. (Detailed statistical results were posted here.)  I especially thank those who enjoyed their weekend. Here are some comments from among the survey-respondents:

• (From the first to reply:) "More time working AND more time with my family (although not really paying attention to them - like now.) Also I have my first BB accident the other day - I rear-ended a car (at ~4 mph) while driving and typing!"
• "Blackberry is my only 24/7 tool. It doesn't allow more time with family. It is addictive. It changes your ability to focus because it has an interrupt function and opearates in an instant gratification mode. It goes with me on holidays and interferes...All that said, at my level (senior executive), I think it is one of the best productivity enhancer I have seen."
• "If I add it up I probably spend more time than ever with work-related matters because of the computer and Internet (I'm competitive).  It's as if my computer has now become my 'watch'."
• "I probably work the same but it's fragmented."
• "Hard to say I am working less, but it does allow me to keep up on work without extracting myself from the family activity (physically anyway).
• "BB was a constant intrusion - I took it with me when I went on my honeymoon and found that it keeps business in the background -- my mind was never very far from business."
• "I would think the amount of time (spouse) uses his blackberry and mobile means less time spent with family, but I look forward to a copy of his answers. 'Vacations' are now always combined with work, because of the blackberry and the phone (not necessarily the web).
• "BB reduces the barrier to people staying connected and therefore there is a pressure to stay connected - therefore you are with family but... On-line commerce can be automated and therefore reduces the need for a person to be permanently connected and this is good."
• "We were at a dinner party last night and a friend commented that her husband spends more time with a Blackberry (first thing in the am and upon arrival from work) that it's become unnerving."
• I think it blurs the lines between the two... I think you probably get to do more of both work and family life because you use the available time in the day more efficiently."
• "The unasked question is what does the family think? The user thinks it is great to spend more time with family. But my family, at least, sees it differently. I asked them and they told me that when I am with them I am "always looking at my phone... always doing email... never fully there... never stop working. This is not good."
• "Blackberry has added a level of connectivity which has made me more effective, hence less stressed. I suppose that my increased effectiveness has resulted in more family time."
• "Being connected by cell and Blackberry is an enabler for down-time. I find I can get away because I still have a wireless umbilical... I am writing this as I sit in my cottage."