Dr. Wayne Pernell explains how pandemic flexibility backfired: workers got the freedom they wanted but ended up checking email before bed and logging longer hours. The boundary between work and life disappeared.
Chapters
We could take our breaks, we could complete, take another break, do more work, complete take a break. And we want freedom. We want to know that if something comes up, there is that flexibility and that I could work on my own and get my job done and all that stuff and then call it a day. Like, one of the things that happened during the pandemic is we all started working longer hours. We would get up at 6 or earlier and check our email first thing and basically be at work from first thing in the morning until, well, there's just one more thing to check. Da da da da. Right after dinner, before bed.