This is a part of a trend we’ve identified called “The End of Sunday“
Here’s a quote we came across in our interviews;
“The image of being on a beach with your cell phone and your laptop is no longer an image of freedom. It’s an image of being tethered to your job.”
-Howard Rheingold, critic & writer
Remember when getting an “out of office” reply from an e-mail seemed uber professional, efficient and caring? Now, an “out of office” reply is cart blanche to begin full-on stalking the person. Who ISN’T “out of the office” these days? It’s akin to The Andy Griffith Show with the “gone fishing” sign. Our expectations have changed so much in the last five years that no excuse really forgives the lack of response. We need to know where next week’s meeting is…and we need to know it NOW! But as my high school nurse used to say “YOUR emergency isn’t necessarily MY emergency.” Kind of strange for a NURSE (of all people) to be poo-pooing emergencies, but I do see her point. So, we’re at a strange point in communication; there are no excuses for not responding within minutes…even if you’re truly “out of the office.”
