VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
1–10 of 129 posts
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#2Union knowledge workers. Outside of healthcare do they exist in the US?
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#3I live in Germany, and I know many engineers who work for one of the big carmakers (either directly or through some external company). Most of them are under some form of collective bargaining agreement. They have a lot of nice perks, like paid overtime (in the form of days of) and pretty good salaries.
Meanwhile I work as a developer for an internet company. I've never heard of anybody working under a CBA, or any kind of compensation for overtime (except for extreme cases, like working on sundays). I earn significantly less too.
So I guess unions can be good sometimes, or something.
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#4Union knowledge workers. Outside of healthcare do they exist in the US?
In government jobs.
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#5Union knowledge workers. Outside of healthcare do they exist in the US?
State and local government.
Some "knowledge worker" roles in phone companies are CWA positions.
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#6Cool idea. Sounds like you can still send emails but not receive any until work.
I noticed that mobile email doesn't always help get more work done, unless you're the person asking the questions in the emails.
If a bb user is busy answering other people's questions... you're likely doing their work too. The culture of "we're waiting on you" that grows in an organization is the real enemy.
Interruptions are bad too. When someone shows up to interrupt and steal your attention indirectly they are saying "what you're doing is not as important as what I have to say". It might not be in those words, the act of interruption does that. Emails, calls, have to be managed.
Somehow I manage most days to do okay with zero sms notifications, zero email notifications on my phone and zero notifications on my computer. Nothing beeps.
There rarely are many problems that can't wait 1-2 hours. When it's urgent, someone emails, then calls. Poor planning on someone else's part doesn't make an emergency in my part. If people really need you they'll send you stuff a few hours in advance if not a few days. I reward pro-active behaviour and get back to them really fast.
Do any of you employ any strategies to get a better email/life balance?
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#7Union knowledge workers. Outside of healthcare do they exist in the US?
Let's start a union.
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#8Cool idea. Sounds like you can still send emails but not receive any until work. I noticed that mobile email doesn't always help get more work done, unless you're the person asking the questions in the emails. If a bb user is busy answering other people's questions... you're likely doing their work too. The culture of "we're waiting on you" that grows in an organization is the real enemy. Interruptions are bad too. W…
Poor planning on someone else's part doesn't make an emergency in my part.
I've always hated this statement. I can understand, to some extent, not bailing out those who are habitually poorly prepared, but how can you justify not bailing someone out if it's what's best for your company?
Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#9I live in Germany, and I know many engineers who work for one of the big carmakers (either directly or through some external company). Most of them are under some form of collective bargaining agreement. They have a lot of nice perks, like paid overtime (in the form of days of) and pretty good salaries. Meanwhile I work as a developer for an internet company. I've never heard of anybody working under a CBA, or any ki…
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Re: VW deactivates employee email outside working hours
#10Union knowledge workers. Outside of healthcare do they exist in the US?
Boeing engineers are unionized: