Week 5: Networked Workers Pros and Cons
Networked workers can bring good and bad things to an organization. Instead of breaking it up as opportunities/challenges, I want to discuss it as topics.
Teacher's Lessons
One benefit to having networked workers is the ease of how information can be shared. In education, we can share lessons and information through Google Drive, Teacher Pay Teacher, or just regular Google searches. The ease at which we can find this information is fast, but it is important to check if this information is reliable and not plagiarized. At one point in my career, I helped to write lessons that aligned to standards and the Smarter Balanced Assessment (state test in Hawai'i). One thing we had to do is find/create lessons but we needed to check to see if they were owned by someone else. If they were, we needed to get permission so our organization would not be plagiarized.
Email Communication
One benefit to networked workers is the ease with which we can communicate with each other. We can share documents and information via email quickly. This has been very important for me this year. Instead of having to do carbon papers (which the State of Hawai'i still uses), email has been very helpful with getting information out to staff members quickly. For example, after I finish a referral, I can quickly get the information to the teams and elective teachers about what transpired. De Nobile (2016) shared how through supportive and directive communication, stress in education will be impacted negatively. As a teacher leader at school, I try to be transparent and open with the other teachers, providing information as quickly as possible, by giving enough but not too little information about what is happening at school. Though teachers might not need to know the entire incident that took place, I try to provide enough information to support the teachers. Furthermore, students seem to like email communication, because they can be connected with their teachers (Vareberg et al., 2020). According to the authors, email was the most commonly used form of communication between teachers and students (as compared to Google Docs, LMS, or social media). However, sometimes, as Cambier and Vlerick (2020) found, there are some issues with email communication. Cambier and Vlerick suggest email should be asynchronous, giving time to the responder. However, email has become more synonymous with synchronous response time. The feeling of needing to respond to emails can cause disruption in work-flow and provide more pressure to respond quickly (Cambier & Vlerick, 2020; Pignata et al., 2015).
Interesting topics, Carli. Setting expectations on email replies can help...but perhaps even more importantly is modeling by leaders themselves. Back when we all came in to work, it drove me crazy that some leaders harassed workers for using the internet during work time for "personal business" ... but then expected workers to reply to emails after hours. You cannot have your cake and eat it too! The pandemic has simply pushed us into a 24/7 always on situation ... which is not necessarily healthy.
ReplyDeleteHi Dr. Watwood,
DeleteI agree that it is not healthy to always be connected. Both Mental Health America (https://www.mhanational.org/work-life-balance) and Lee (https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahlee/2014/10/20/6-tips-for-better-work-life-balance/?sh=40f2453629ff) write about the importance of unplugging after hours. One thing I really tried to do after the pandemic shut down the schools was to take a break from technology after hours. I set a goal for myself to not do work after hours or on the weekend. I've been pretty good up until last week, since I'm getting close to my due date and trying to finish / get things in line for my replacement when I'm on leave. I've felt much better not doing work on the weekend and like I have time to relax.
Case in point, I graded last week's work on Monday, and then took Tuesday through yesterday to basically unplug at Chincoteague Island. Photographed horses and birds ... listened to the surf ... read a novel ... and relaxed with my wife.
DeleteHi Carli & Dr. Watwood,
ReplyDeleteAs you both mentioned, this pressure to respond quickly to work emails can be stressful for workers. As Dr. Watwood suggests, this is where leaders should set realistic expectations and model behavior. In the teaching profession, work life balance is already challenging when much of our work, like grading and planning, must be done outside of "work hours." Responding to emails just becomes another task that must be done after work. Free Spirit Counseling members (educators) shared some ways to create a work-life balance during the pandemic. I appreciate Sharon's (a special education teacher) suggestion to add into your email signature that if the message is received after the school day that you will answer the next day or within 24 hours. While I would not be comfortable doing this on my own, if a school leader did this, I and I'm sure other teachers would follow suit.
https://freespiritpublishingblog.com/2020/11/09/educators-how-do-you-create-work-life-balance-during-the-pandemic/
Hi, Carli,
ReplyDeleteMy organization is 100% remote and relies heavily on email and Microsoft Teams chat to communicate throughout the work day.
I will admit that I have fallen into a season of anxiously getting through emails in a timely fashion while also trying to complete my work duties for the day.
Do you believe that there should be some sort of boundaries set between students and teachers when communicating via email?
Having some sort of protocol in place could prevent some stress added on to a teacher when trying to quickly respond to a student while also being present for their daily duties.
Best,
Brandi
Brandi, I used to tell my students (via syllabus) that while my course was available 24/7 ... I was not. I try to respond quickly and usually within 24 hours, but that is a personal goal, not a requirement.
DeleteHi Brandi,
DeleteWith my college students, I tell them I will respond within 24 hours. If they don't hear from me, I encourage them to text me.
Up until last year, I would continue to work at home and respond to emails until 9 PM or later for my K-12 position. But, I recently stopped. If I am not at work, I will not respond. My only exceptions are emails from the Principal or Vice Principal. I know last year, the Instructional Coaches at the school were encouraging teachers to set boundaries and not respond to messages late at night. It's good to be able to set that time to step away and spend time doing what you like (or to focus on your homework from Creighton :p). I've tried to share this with some people, but they do not like it. They've told me they want the parents to see they are working at 11 PM. They couldn't explain why that was important though.
Like Gaby said, it's easier to do if your leadership team follows suit and does not respond to the emails either. I'm applying to our admin program in Hawaii and this may be something I implement when I become a VP.