technology brings to our working lives, such as avoiding the stress, time and expense of commuting, and offering the flexibility of working around other commitments, the downside is the feeling or expectation of being constantly available. Whether it is emails, online conferences, or other connectivity tools, the non-stop ping of notifications has become the daily soundtrack of our working lives. Video calls have not only replaced regular meetings that would have happened face to face or via phone call, they have multiplied. As a result, our days are spent communicating digitally, almost non-stop, about the work that needs to be done or that we are planning to do, which is actually impacting our ability to do the work in question. This is not just anecdotal, but quantifiable. A recent study explored the change in work behaviors and attitudes between 2016 and 2021. One eye-catching finding was the decline in respondents’ belief that digital technologies boost ( ) personal efficiency and productivity. In 2016, 74% felt technology improved efficiency and 87% felt it raised ( ) productivity. Within 5 years, these numbers have dropped considerably, to 48% and 46% respectively. This reflects the reality that most of us are currently experiencing: that we are working longer hours, working more intensely and juggling more demands, and that additional layers of technology seem to be making many of us less efficient and less productive. The good news is that this is not an insurmountable issue. Technology will continue to play an essential role in our work lives, whether we are in an office with colleagues or connecting remotely. In-built tools, such as muting notifications outside certain working windows and scheduling emails for the following day if working late, can help to reinstate some of the boundaries between work and life that have vanished. Even with offices welcoming staff back, we are unlikely to see whole workforces under one roof at the same time ever again. Staff will be working remotely, perhaps in a rotating pattern based on individual appetites and schedules, as well as office capacity. As this flexibility becomes the norm and we begin to adopt hybrid working patterns, the next step is to refine working practices that only arose out of necessity and ensure the wealth of options, from locations to technologies, is used to improve how we work together, not hinder it. Work in groups of four. Make a list of pros and cons of digital technology mentioned in the article. Then, add your own ideas. Prepare a visualisation of your ideas (poster or PPT slide) to show your classmates. Compare your visuals in class. Look at the text again. Do the highlighted verbs mean: A become popular or successful? B improve? C increase? Put A, B or C next to the highlighted verbs in the text. Write a few sentences about something that has become popular or increased. Example: Unemployment is soaring right now. It’s nearly 10%. Read out your sentences, but don’t mention the topic. Can other people guess what they’re about? Example: It’s soaring right now. It’s nearly 10%. You have come across the blog post on the right and you decide to comment on it. In your blog comment, you should: ■■ describe how you use online information and digital technology. ■■ explain your favoured methods of research. ■■ speculate about the consequences of digital technology in work and private life. Write around 250 words. 1 Writing guide: Blog comment, p. 189. c d Language focus Developments and advances 5 a b c Writing 6 Jeremy Griffin, 17 July, 6:31 pm On call for 24 hours The ‘anytime, anywhere’ access that our mobile devices provide us with; the crumb trail that social data leaves: there are a number of positive and negative sides of the digital, social and mobile world we live in. But where is it all leading? Language skills Extras Explore 9 Technology and science 119 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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