How Much Connectivity Is Too Much?

Is constant connectivity crucial to modern business? According to a recent commercial on television and You Tube, “connectile dysfunction” is more than just a competitive disadvantage - it is a social embarrassment.

While I was having lunch with a friend a few weeks ago, I realized just how connected we are today. Every few minutes, he stopped to check new email and telephone messages on his Blackberry. Another friend told me that her company is installing a VOIP telephone system which will forward messages from an employee’s office phone to that person’s PC, laptop, cell phone or other mobile device. And another friend of mine is constantly receiving business calls outside of normal working hours on her cell phone.
When instant messaging, text messaging, Internet video and music, and social networking are added to the mix, the landscape of 21st century business is changing significantly.

Before this technological explosion, basically only members of occupations such as law enforcement, medical, and other emergency workers had to be available 24/7. Now, this situation has been extended to a much larger segment of the workforce. Real estate agents, mortgage brokers, entrepreneurs, accountants, lawyers, salespeople, engineers and many others seem to be constantly on call.

What effect does this connectivity have on employees? A recent study performed at the MIT Sloan School of Management found that ninety percent of employees at an unnamed financial services firm felt a “compulsion” to constantly check their Blackberry. I know that when I am at a conference or on vacation, I check the messages on my work telephone and my email as do many of my friends and colleagues.

What about future connectivity? As Dr. Alan Kay, one of the developers of the modern workstation, aptly stated, "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." And the future is being invented as you’re reading this article.