globalcp@cue.UVic.CA (Melcir Erskine-Richmond) (07/24/90)
KC Burgess Yakemovic suggests that computerization of the workplace may have increased the workload. Personally, I wonder if the computerization of society is not just more fun, and therefore we willingly take on a somewhat expanded concept of what is or is not work (not work-without-pay necessarily, but work-with- heart work-as-pleasure if not even work-as-leisure!). I for one write an enormous volume of mail by computer, far surpassing anything I would have dreamed personally possible using typed letter+stamp +postal service. Excitingly, the process of communications between myself and those with whom I correspond is also rapidly escalating, with the speed of turn-around time between communications by email being so quick! Is this just work or work-as-excitement or work-as-fun! No wonder we are working more, if we are enjoying our work more! Melcir
kcby@kong.Atlanta.NCR.Com (KC Burgess Yakemovic) (07/31/90)
I'll agree that many things we do with computer are much more fun than trying to do the same thing without the computer. The real question is, do we _need_ to do these things? As an example, we used to (say 10 years ago) prepare for internal presentations by handwriting a couple of pages of "highlights", which we had made into transparancies. Only if we were presenting to a customer did we call in the graphics artist and have a "pretty" presentation made. Now, for every presentation, internal or external, we sit down with our page layout or presentation graphics software and play grahpics artist. And it's great fun. I love being "creative" (being that sort of person anyway.) But am I productive? I wonder. I'm not so sure that my results are any better than they were 10 years ago, but now instead of spending 2 hours preparing for an internal presentation I spend, say 4-6. Pretty... fun... yes. Productive? > Excitingly, the process of communications between myself and those > with whom I correspond is also rapidly escalating, with the speed > of turn-around time between communications by email being so quick! > Is this just work or work-as-excitement or work-as-fun? Again, I agree with you regarding the enjoyment aspect. I also correspond heavily using email. I'm connected with the world this way. I get a lot of good ideas from other people, and can even point at some that might have had a bottom-line impact on my company. But I also notice that I do more strictly _fun_ conversing this way than I did when limited to pen/paper. (Which personally, I excuse since I don't spend time standing around the water cooler discussing the latest sports scores :-) Now, personally, I enjoy my work, so longer hours aren't a real problem... but it does wreck havoc with time for the family. Thanks to technology's impact on society, I can't just say no. My handwritten presentation is no longer accepted. Even though it would be a "better" value for my company. And give me more "free" time. I wonder if the "fun" we have doing work for the company is a _good_ exchange for the fun we could have if the time belonged to us? K.C. Burgess Yakemovic