I often wonder how we managed before the advent of cell phones. There was a time when we all had wrist watches to tell the time, a small notebook to write notes on the go, an agenda to manage our appointments, a paper map to know how to get where we wanted to go, a wallet with money, credit cards, and yes, of course, a landline telephone to call friends and associates.

All this has changed. Today, our mobile devices make it possible to group all these activities together, and most importantly, keep us connected 24/7. With access to the internet anywhere we go, we can access the largest library, check the weather, watch our investments, answer our emails, purchase movie tickets—the possibilities are endless. It’s all awesome, convenient, efficient, time saving, and what a boost to our productivity!

That's what I love about technology; it allows us to do so many things efficiently so that the 24 hours in our day seem to contain more hours.

On the other hand, if technology and internet “connect-ability” are not used wisely, they can be very damaging.

Today’s "always available corporate culture" is actually stealing the free time of employees. More and more companies place their employees on call 24/7. Employees are expected to give an honest day's work, and for that they should be fairly and adequately compensated. On the other hand, most are not compensated for being on call 24/7.

If left un-checked by senior executives, managers can be tempted to overload their team members, and then expect them to answer their mobile devices after working hours. Those who accept this 24/7 culture may get burned out and sacrifice other important personal and family needs in the process. In order to be recognized as a dedicated employee, subliminal pressure is placed upon the rest of the employees to join the 24/7 team. New hires may be intimidated, believing that 24/7 availability is the norm. The message becomes, “You need to be available 24/7 here to make a career!”

Being productive and loyal to my employer and engaged and passionate about my job does not require this 24/7 availability. On the contrary, when I aim for life balance, my productivity as well as my loyalty to my company increases. I am able to recognize the benefits of working at a company with a corporate culture that respects me for who I am. It is a culture that believes when employees have time to recharge their batteries, they become more creative and innovative. Creativity and innovation is not an on-off switch. It is the result of a well-balanced life of those working within the area of their passion.

There are, of course, many companies that do offer or require 24/7 availability. It could be because of the nature of their product(s) or service(s); for example, 24-hour call centers, data centers, hospitals, police, security. For others, it is a necessity because they have global operations. There is nothing wrong with this kind of 24-hour availability. In these companies, management schedules staff attendance fairly around the clock, and plans labour work on a rotation basis. Most importantly, employees are also paid accordingly.

There are also labour laws that protect employees and employers, mostly from themselves! A good example is work guidelines for truck drivers that stipulate required resting hours for truckers on long distance routes.

I believe when employees are work overloaded, their circuits eventually overcharge. As a result, stress negatively influences their productivity, engagement, creativity, and overall job satisfaction. Ultimately this affects the company’s success. Employers that promote this kind of sweat shop mentality, or those who do nothing to prevent the 24/7 culture, eventually suffer over the long term.

On the other hand, smart managers that encourage life balance and genuinely respect their employees’ personal time are rewarded with human resources that are loyal, engaged, productive, and creative. This is the right recipe for a company’s success.

For more practical advice for entrepreneurs, general managers, and CEOs on how to manage people and get above average results from anyone, check out my new book MAVERICK LEADERSHIP.

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