in Personal

Writing About Work

I never write in specific terms about work, out of a concern that my words will somehow their way to the eyes of my bosses and my bosses’ bosses. It’s not so much that I fear retribution for an off-color remark. It’s more that I want my thoughts, set down here, to be the province of my personal life rather than my professional life.

Is this even possible anymore? The Twitterfication of the world is accelerating every day. Twitter, the online micro-blogging platform, allows one to connect with others quickly and constantly. The more interconnected we become with those at work and those at home, the more the separate spheres of ones life coalesce. A Seinfeld episode described this as the colliding of worlds.

Businesses that wish to stay competitive in a global economy, attracting the best talent worldwide, will become more flexible with their employees, leveraging this blurring effect to increase productivity. Work when you feel like it, when you’re most productive! Sometimes you’ll have to take a call at midnight, but a midday break to take the kids to the zoo will be okay.

This may be troublesome for those that cannot rapidly transition between two different frames of mind. The personal task-switching costs may be insurmountable for some. These personalities will be ousted from the global economy where productivity and entrepreneurship reign.

Despite this inevitable collision, for now, I’d like to write about work without it getting in the company newsletter.