“Weisure” Takes Hold, Blending Work and Play
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Highlights
- New York University sociologist Dalton Conley coined “weisure” as the latest work/life phenomenon.
- Weisure is free time that is spent doing work-related tasks, such as using social media sites to connect with coworkers.
- Fifty-six percent of business executive respondents said social networking sites help their employees achieve better work/life balance.
Remember a time when work was for the office and leisure was for vacation?
It was a time before PDA’s, when the workday seemed to end the moment you stepped away from your workplace. It was a time when vacation meant leaving behind all office connections in exchange for the hammock under the palm trees.
Today, with the wireless revolution evolving the way we work and keeping us connected around the clock, busy employees are living lives where work and leisure have seemingly merged.
New York University sociologist Dalton Conley calls it “weisure,” and it is the latest work/life phenomenon. Conley describes weisure as the free time that is spent doing work-related tasks, such as using social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to connect to coworkers while outside the office.
“Weisure is certainly happening. Essentially I think people are spending more time working, either from home or at the office,” said Fred Van Deusen, senior research associate at Boston College’s Center for Work and Family. Van Deusen attributes these changes to the fact that “a lot of people are working from home, some part-time and some full-time. Companies are offering a lot of those arrangements now.”
What does living a life of weisure mean for employees who are already putting in a full day at work?
Weisure may signal that people are more efficient and are enjoying work more, said Conley, who added that “a lot of their social life revolves around colleagues who they enjoy talking to about their work.” People are finding it easier to stay connected with their work-related peers through social networking.
Weisure also benefits the employer, added Conley. “For the most part, employers are getting a good deal out of this — they are getting more productivity.” Because the line between work and play has blurred, employers are finding that their employees are getting more things done and more quickly too.
Employees are not the only ones adjusting to these changes. Employers too are finding ways to adapt to this new way of life.
“I think employers are leveraging weisure, but not in a conscious way,” Dalton said. “I think they are certainly benefiting from it,” he added, explaining how employers are profiting from more engaged, productive employees who do not mind taking work outside the office.
Keeping up with the demands of a society that has a pace comparable to that of high-speed Internet can be as exhausting as it is challenging. Some of the less than glamorous side affects of weisure mean less downtime. In addition to not spending as much time for genuine leisure, there are indications that people may be “addicted” to the Internet or are likely feeling pressured to stay connected 24/7. “People feel obligated to stay in touch, and they have more tools to do so,” Van Deusen said.
But not everybody in the workplace agrees that technology has a positive influence on work/life balance.
According to a workplace survey conducted this year by consulting company Deloitte, 56 percent of business executive respondents said social networking sites help their employees achieve better work/life balance by allowing them to easily connect with both their home and professional lives. By contrast, only 31 percent of the employee respondents agree.
“The term work/life balance implies that you are actually trying to find a balance between work and life,” Van Deusen said. “People were finding that it really wasn’t quite possible so we talked more in terms of work/life integration.” Van Deusen added that this focus on integration has made it easier for the Center for Work and Family to study work/life scenarios.
Though the merging of work and leisure may not be as seamless for some, weisure is a reflection of the changing times. The best gauge for measuring weisure’s affects on work/life is by determining if work is interfering with what you’re trying to do personally, Van Deusen said.