SPEAK UP

MUMBAI | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010

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SURVEY NUMEROLOGICSI Most adults in Mumbai work at home even after working hours, several times a week. Arcopol Chaudhuri finds out how WIRELESSLY
According to the Quality of Life Survey conducted smartphones and wireless data cards refuse to let us switch off from work CONNECTED
jointly by DNA - AZ Research, it was observed, that
overall in Mumbai, most adults work at home after
office hours about two to three times a week. The
pattern is strikingly similar across Mumbai its
suburbs and Navi Mumbai, except in Thane its the
story every day of the week. North Mumbai also
faces a similar dilemma, with respondents stating
that they had to take home work.
‘I’m totally restless until I’ve
checked all my unread e-mails’
(Sample size: 1200, SEC A/B, Age: 28-60 years,
Male/Female)

ALWAYS CONNECTED
The following pie charts represent how strongly
Mumbai has taken to working at home, even
after office hours. They indicate the frequency
every week when they have to be accessible for
work, even at home.
Overall
Many working professionals who will
stare at the survey findings alongside MANAGE YOUR TIME BETTER
will hope that their bosses are reading
it as well. It’s obvious sometimes isn’t it Call it a professional SET YOUR TO-DO LIST
-if you’re overloaded with work, blame hazard, but
Siddhartha Sahni, A common mistake we end up
the boss. But before you pass the buck, doing is that we use our memory to
it would be worthwhile to examine your an advertising
list things to do. Bad idea. No
own lifestyle. professional is
matter how confident you think
We are now enmeshed in such a wire- among several you are about your memory,
less world that it has become difficult to Mumbaikars who always make a list of things to-do
switch-off from those around us. Simply find it difficult to once you arrive at work.
put, switching off from work has become switch off from Alternatively, plan it the evening
almost impossible. work. before, so you have a clear idea
Take Borivli resident Ankita Gaba, —Prakash Parsekar DNA what’s in store the next day.
for example. She is a compulsive e-mail

28% checker. “I somehow feel restless till I

haven’t checked my last unread mail.
Even if there’s one-email notification on
my iPhone, I have to check it to read
PRIORITISE, DELEGATE
Ask yourself and your team-
members which tasks need to be
executed first. Which ones will
what it’s about. Before I go to sleep at provide immediate results and
night, I want to ensure that there should which ones need to be kickstarted
be zero unread mails.” for long-term targets? A discussion
Gaba’s hyperactivity over e-mail is with your colleagues and
understandable. As a young entrepre- delegation of work in an
appropriate manner will give each
person an idea of what is expected
out of them for the day.

Mumbai CUT DOWN ON BREAKS

28% Take a break once in a while to

relax, but keep a count on how
many minutes you’re spending on
them. Smoking breaks need to
controlled especially, if it is at the
cost of important calls or
assignments. Tea breaks are
another nuisance — unless if you
neur in the digital media domain, she
use it as an opportunity to discuss
has to be prompt in her replies to make important matters with your team.
a certain impression about the way she
approaches. “I can’t ignore a work-re-
Navi lated e-mail which comes in late, even af- EAT ON TIME
ter 9pm,” she says. Ensure that you have your meals
Mumbai But the story of letting work follow on time. A stomach that’s fed well,
you on your Blackberry or your iPhone, helps in productivity at work.

28% or simply getting busy working on a

presentation once you’re home, is some-
thing that a lot of Mumbaikars identify
with. The DNA’s Quality of Life survey
shows that overall, most adults work at
home, even after office working hours 2-
3 times a week. In Thane, this pattern is
visible on a daily basis.
There are two sides to this story - one,
the fact that employers are providing
employees with options that enable con-
stant connectivity (e.g. a Blackberry
phone, wireless internet data card) and
Thane two, people are in-general becoming ob-
25% sessed with devices and the wired world
it connects to.
The employer of Mulund resident Ma-
hadevan Krishnan, 28, has done the same
and he is expected to be in the know of
e-mails sent after office working hours.
He recollects an incident when a senior
colleague who doesn’t own a Blackber-
ry phone, was reprimanded because it
was difficult to reach him over e-mail.
Krishnan says, “There are times when
the pressure is such, that one has to ex-
ecute work even after coming home, be-
cause the client needs it. Since we have
the devices to do it, we are expected to de-
liver.”
Achint Madhok (name changed), a
resident of Andheri, who worked at a
publishing house, recalls being fired by
his employer since he wasn’t able to
complete an assignment from home. “I
was told that I should have done it, con-
sidering my company is paying for the
internet connection and cellphone bill.
I resigned that day, since I didn’t want to
remain wedded to my work, after office
hours, simply because they had given
me the means to do so.”
But for 27-year old Bandra resident
Siddhartha Sahni, a wired life is an oc-
cupational hazard. The advertising pro-
fessional belongs to an industry, which
like many others fields makes it clear
that there isn’t a great social /family life
to boast of. He admits, “I’ve tried organ-
ising my day to ensure that I finish my
6:30pm, but it never happens. Mails have
to be replied to, presentations have to be
made, co-ordination with colleagues re-
porting to me- all these do take up my
time even after I’ve reached home.”
The inability to switch off has given
rise to new excuses at work. For example,
Hemen Jain (name changed), a resident
of Chembur, who plans to take a seven-
day leave in October, is going to tell his
employer that he’s travelling out of the
country and will be unavailable on phone
and e-mail. “In reality though, I plan to
relax at home and catch up on some read-
ing and movies. If I tell them the truth,
my colleagues may still inundate me with
e-mail and work-related requests.”
Meanwhile, there are also some like
Krishnan, who feel that being unmar-
ried makes them prone to bear the
brunt of such requests. “When you’re
single, you’re considered available to
work on a weekend, or to attend office
on a holiday,” he says.
Women agree. Himani Patel, 24, who
is currently unmarried and works in
an entertainment firm, feels that once
she is married, she will inevitably have
to devote more time for the family. “Be-
ing in the content creation space, I’m
required to co-ordinate with the editing
team, some of which happens through
the weekend. I live with my parents, so
they understand, but things change
once you’re married, right?”
c_arcopol@dnaindia.net
HOLD YOUR GOSSIP
Control your gossip and chatter
with colleagues. Can it wait? Does
it need to be discussed? These are
questions you must ask before you
proceed to share what’s cooking in
the neighbouring cubicle.
CONTROL FACEBOOK, TWITTER
While its great to be curious about
what’s happening around the
world, you’re not paid a fat pay-
cheque to be on Facebook all day.
A blanket ban will knock you out,
but in offices where these sites are
not blocked, limit your Facebook
and Twitter usage to certain hours.
DEVELOP A HOBBY, GET A LIFE
Don’t make your work the centre
of your existence. Develop a
hobby, read a book, watch a play
or a movie, meet new people.
Devote time for your family and
friends.

Inbox SUCH IS LIFEI Sudhir Shetty

Focus on the holistic

perspective
In response to ‘What’s your
excuse for skipping breakfast
today?’ (Speak Up, Sept 6)
Your discussion about
‘Healthy breakfast = produc-
tive day’ in your esteemed
daily, was a timely report. In-
deed, it is true that 42% adult
Mumbaikars skip breakfast.
As the expert Dr Richa
Anand says ‘time does not
permit elaborate prepara-
tions.’ However, it may be
noted that majority of the
adult Mumbaikars have
heavy dinner on the previous
day. This leads them to skip
the breakfast. So they don’t
feel hungry in morning. With
IFEEDBACKI
Have you managed to find a great work-life balance
despite being wirelessly connected 24x7? Tell us your
story. Feel free to write in to us at
speakup@dnaindia.net
‘Keep some hours a day sacrosanct’
The reason why many of us
seem to be carrying work
back from office to home and
in the commute — is due to
four major factors in my view.
> The nature of products and
work have changed. Gone
are the days where work
was doing something and
reference to food we eat, we finishing it. These days, it
should look at the quality of only seems
life in a holistic perspective EXPERT that we are
and the meals for the day in- VIEW abandoning
stead of one meal. Eating work one
habits of adult Mumbaikars evening and picking it up
is quite different, as noted by the next morning. Except
your esteemed daily. for certain roles and in-
Leena Martin, chief dietician, dustries, the rest of us who
Holy Family Hospital and work in the private sector
Medical Research Centre know that our competitive
success depends on the
softer aspects of work -
mainly relationships. So an
email that arrives at 11 pm
in the night or a customer
phone call — even when
you are stuck at Saki Naka
— needs to be answered.
> Work has globalised as well.
Gone are the days
where work was doing
something and finishing
it. These days, it only
seems that we are
abandoning work one
evening and picking it
up the next morning.
Gautam Ghosh
A stock market profession- able 24/7. The unspoken as-
al needs to track the Euro- sumption is that each mes-
pean, US and Far East mar- sage is urgent and needs to
ket to understand how the be responded as soon as
BSE will behave tomorrow. possible.
The laptop with the inter- > Failure of self-manage-
net connection is therefore ment: Many leaders lever-
rarely shut down except for age tools for micro-man-
a couple of hours. The soft- agement, forcing subordi-
ware or BPO business nates to keep them “in the
leader manages employees loop” for every little deci-
one half of the day and sion and steps taken. Being
clients in the other half. a control freak means nev-
> Technology has become er really being in control of
better so that we are reach- your time.
HANDY TIPS
> Set clear expectations
with colleagues, co-
workers, clients and your
bosses that certain hours
of the day are sacrosanct
and if work spills over then
that would mean it would
get done the next day. This
change would need to be
driven by the leaders of
the organisation.
> People should give up the
illusion of control and the
urge to keep everyone
informed. Delegate work to
your people and trust them
to deliver. Coach them that
they should escalate
issues only after they have
tried all their other options.
Gautam Ghosh is a manage-
ment consultant focusing on
how organizations can use
social technologies to commu-
nicate internally.

Across 5 One sort of wood that’s without

flaws (5)
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1 Totals include fifty in squalid
accommodation (5) 6 Pest possibly slain in the garden How to Fill each of the blank boxes with the number grid from 1-9, and the
letter grid from A-I with no letters or numbers repeating in vertical,
8 One showing enthusiasm and (5) play
Crossword no 1722

unusual verve for the dance (8)
9 A number grow sick, get benefit
(5)
10 Vet’s idea to provide a
7 Prized inventor of dynamite (5) horizontal rows or 3x 3 grids. Do not repeat any letters in a line.
12 Showed the way out of a little Each puzzle has only one solution.
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13 Mother checks the water (3)
Yesterday’s solution

tranquilliser (8) 14 It proves wildly frolicsome (8)

11 Prepares to publish new diets (5)
12 Youth in stable employment? (3)
16 At last I have something for a
salad (6)
17 Have a lofty aim? (6)
18 Ten cents is pointlessly stupid (3)
23 Pop’s executors? (5)
24 This sort of clue is included in the
French game (8)
25 Sounds of relief of audible
dimensions (5)
26 Rows about stray dogs (8)
27 Lead a request for silence on the
meadow (5)
Down
2 Sweetheart who finds romance
finished (5,3)
3 Claim for support (8)
4 Servant going to a dance (6)
15 Prepares for spring (8)
19 New rents I introduce (6)
20 Groovy musical pipe (5)
21 The team’s points amount to 20 (5)
22 Tinned beef like this is poison (5)
Solution No: 1721
Across: 1 Anticlimax, 6 Acre, 10
Naked, 11 Metronome, 12 Flatiron, 13
Misty, 15 Elapsed, 17 Monarch, 19
Peerage, 21 Stops in, 22 Radii, 24
Aversion, 27 Novelette, 28 Alibi, 29
Earn, 30 Icing sugar.
Down: 1 Awns, 2 Take leave, 3 Cadet, 4
Immured, 5 Antonym, 7 Crops, 8
Everything, 9 Commando, 14
team speak up Brinda Majithia, Meghna Sharma and Nitin Kumar
Temperance, 16 Spaniels, 18 Restoring,
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