beep, buzz, ring & ping
Thankfully, I’ve never had to work nights for more than a couple of student holiday periods, and remember them with surprisingly fond memories as it was quite a laugh and certainly a novel experience. However, I did grow up in a household that was dominated by the 24 hour shift pattern of ‘the ol’ man’ and recall nothing funny about them whatsoever. A different shift brought a certain tension to the house, and no amount of quiet, or absence, appeared to assuage the stressful & dark feelings that descended in the blink of an eye.
These days the trials and tribulations of sleep-deprived junior doctors are well known, and the impact of zero-hour contracts, unpredictable work schedules and disruptive shift patterns extensively documented. ‘Back in the day’ it was all put down to an individual’s bad mood and them getting out of the bed the wrong side, but now we appreciate far more the negative psychological impact these have on the well-being of both individual and family, and many, fortunately myself included, are lucky enough to be able to avoid it like the plague. So why do we allow ourselves to be ‘on-call’ on an almost 24 hour basis?
These days, in our self-perpetuating virtual world, and irrespective of what it may say in your contract of employment, aren’t the majority of us increasingly on-call, all the time? Technology, underpinned by the all-pervading social media, has undoubtedly eroded the difference between the office and your home, work & play. The mythical nine-till-five working day, the emails your boss pops over late into the evening that obviously necessitate an immediate response, the work-overload you’re expected to clear by Monday morning, are all implicit examples of the fact that the powers-that-be expect you to get with the programme. Attempt to leave on the dot or try not answering the 10.00pm ringing phone if you dare! Fancy making a stand against it? With Gideon and his multi-millionaire henchman, Jeremy Hunt, blatantly stating that we’ve all got to work harder, and longer, just you try it!
If you’ve already made this particular rod for your own back, I concede it’s extremely difficult, if not nigh on impossible, to change, especially if you work for an international organisation. Nonetheless, it’s worth asking if you are actually contributing to your own emotional & psychological downfall on this, and what you may need to do to put an end to the creep.
Firstly, turn off your phone. Once upon a time it was accepted that the watch was our own capitalist clocking-on device but this has easily been surpassed by the ubiquitous smart phone (‘smart’ for who is a question you may want to ask?). Needless to say that this has to happen at lights-out and, go on, be devil, and try it for a couple of hours during the evening as it’s truly liberating. And don’t just switch it to silent, vibrate or flight-mode as that won’t stop you either expecting the contact or continually checking for it; off means OFF and avoid every bleep, buzz, ping & ring. If you don’t need to answer work emails during the weekend, don’t log on. If there’s some crossover between your friends, colleagues & peers on social media, a bit of judicious pruning & unfriending is going to be necessary. And do it with a clear conscience. Don’t enjoy socialising with your boss, or don’t want to? Then don’t. If you can afford two phones, one for work, one for you, then bite the bullet but remember to turn both off at night. Oh, and whilst you’re at Argos, treat yourself to a proper alarm clock so you’re not late for work, whatever time that may happen to be!
There’s plenty of things in life you can’t control but don’t leave your well-being at the mercy of the things you can.
