There has been a lot of discussion about our work-life balance recently. From a now-former boss of an advertising agency making a statement about gender diversity that caused a heated debate, to the new paternity leave policy. We aren’t going to dive into the ethics of these debates, we just want to pick on some points that came out of them.
The UK has some of the longest working hours and the shortest holidays in Europe. Inflexible working hours was another aspect that is going to have a direct effect on our work-life balance.
The cloud not only brings flexibility to your infrastructure it can also bring flexibility to your work life balance. The summer holidays is getting up to full swing now for most. What should be an enjoyable experience becomes very stressful. The kids need to be looked after and being tied to a desk doesn’t help. Even more frustratingly for some, the cloud gives flexibility, but due to our traditional way of working we aren’t taking full advantage of it. A little bit of bend can go a long way.
According to research conducted by TUC the number of people having to commute more than 2 hours a day has risen by 72% over the last decade. The average commuting time for workers in the UK to and from work combined is 1 Hour and 38 minutes according to The Mail. The likely cause of this is due to lack of spending on road and rails, but I still think this shows our a lack of adoption towards the cloud.
Should workers be compensated for their time getting to work? Another debate for another time. However 1.38 hours X 5 days = 7.30 hours – that’s half an hour short of another working day. The money and time saved from commuting could go a long way towards achieving a better work-life balance.
There are many benefits to working from home, such as time and money saved on commuting, less stress, distractions and improved health and fitness. Workers would have access to their own kitchen facilities allowing for healthier snacks.
Some of the issues around working from home can be answered directly by the cloud. For instance, communication issues and lack of face-to-face time. The cloud embraces communication and services like Skype and Facetime allow for face-to-face instant communication that can also be used for conference calls, saving a long haul trip across the country. Disadvantages like Isolation and lack of social interaction can be helped by only having a couple of days working from home. Remember it is a balance, we are trying to achieve.
There is no doubt the cloud has affected our life almost as much as our work. We now have an abundance of streaming services to choose from and we are constantly increasing the time spent on our phones.
Why are we hindering the cloud’s full potential? What’s stopping your business building a stronger bridge between our work and life? If you are interested in adopting the cloud or want to make better use of your cloud, then please, contact us and we will try and assist you in creating a better-balanced work and life style.
