????每周7天,、每天24小時開機是不是太過分了,？現(xiàn)在有些公司正在鼓勵員工減少對智能手機和電子郵件的依賴。沒人能否認(rèn),，這些工具的確能夠幫我們與同事和客戶保持聯(lián)系，但過度依賴智能手機也可能導(dǎo)致疲憊以及生產(chǎn)力下降,。

????山姆?查普曼是芝加哥的人力資源公司Empower Public Relations的首席執(zhí)行官,。他的公司有25名員工。早在2007年,，查普曼就發(fā)現(xiàn),，他的員工們認(rèn)為,，每周7天,、每天24小時都得保持手機開機,。于是查普曼決定為員工們解開智能手機的束縛。因此他制定了一個《黑莓手機管制政策》,，規(guī)定公司員工在工作日的下午6點到早上6點之間以及周末全天不準(zhǔn)接工作電話,、回復(fù)工作郵件。查普曼稱,，公司很快戒掉了下班后仍過度依賴智能手機的習(xí)慣——除非出現(xiàn)那種“一年只有一次的緊急狀況”,。

????查普曼認(rèn)為，他的公司之所以蓬勃發(fā)展，部分原因就是由于員工隊伍始終精力充沛,，而不是負(fù)擔(dān)過重,，精力不濟,。他說：“員工在工作的時候很專心。下了班后也能好好休息,，恢復(fù)精神,。”

????當(dāng)查普曼與家人外出吃飯時,，有時他能感覺到口袋里的黑莓手機在振動，好像在固執(zhí)地要求他接聽,?！艾F(xiàn)在我把一切都關(guān)掉了，這對我的家庭和我的心理都有好處,?！?/p>

????查普曼表示，客戶們也針對該公司的新政策做出了調(diào)整,。大多數(shù)客戶認(rèn)為這種做法是健康的，現(xiàn)在除非迫不得已,，他們也不會在下班時間打擾查普曼的員工,。

????公司的新政還提高了員工的忠誠度。過去幾年里,，該公司平均每年只流失一個員工,。但在幾年前，在該公司的員工還不到10個人的時候,，每年的員工跳槽率高達近50%。查普曼還說,，有些有才能的員工之所以到他的公司應(yīng)聘,，就是希望擺脫每周7天、每天24小時不能關(guān)機之苦,。

????“零郵件計劃”

????法國的Atos公司是一家全球IT服務(wù)和咨詢提供商,，在42個國家擁有7萬多名員工。2011年2月,，該公司CEO蒂埃里?布雷頓宣布了一項為期三年的“零郵件計劃”。雖然取了這樣一個名字,，但這項計劃的初衷并不是要徹底消除電子郵件,，只是打算顯著降低電子郵件的使用。公司規(guī)定,，只有在與客戶進行重要溝通,，或是需要存檔,，或是出于法律原因需要使用電子郵件時,，方可使用電子郵件。其它情況下,，員工們可以采取更傳統(tǒng)的方式進行溝通,，比如打電話或面對面交談。

????Atos零郵件計劃的全球主任羅伯特?肖表示,，公司認(rèn)為“郵件已經(jīng)遭到了濫用,。員工的效率正在下降，因為他們花了太多工作時間關(guān)注電子郵件的收件箱,?！狈治隽斯镜泥]件使用情況后,，Atos公司認(rèn)為,，90%的電子郵件不會導(dǎo)致與生產(chǎn)力有關(guān)的結(jié)果,，真正能解決問題的郵件只有10%。

????公司現(xiàn)在正在訓(xùn)練員工使用其它的替代性溝通方法,，比如群組即時通訊工具等,。公司還有一個內(nèi)部程序，可以批準(zhǔn)或否決諸如公務(wù)出差等事項,。羅伯特?肖還表示,，公司還鼓勵員工回到“大家喜愛的面對面交談”。許多Atos公司的客戶也很想聽到這個三年計劃的成果,。因為這些客戶也認(rèn)為自己的員工花在郵件上的時間太多了,。

????Has 24/7 access gone too far? A small but growing number of companies are encouraging their staff to take time off from their BlackBerrys and smartphones or reduce their dependence on email. No one disputes that these gadgets help staffers stay connected to coworkers and clients, but constant connection can lead to exhaustion and a decrease in productivity.

????Seeing that his staff felt that they needed to be accessible 24/7 seven days a week back in 2007, Sam Chapman, CEO of Empower Public Relations, a 25-employee Chicago-based PR firm, cut the smartphone cord. He established a BlackBerry Blackout Policy, which prohibited the company's staff from answering calls or emails from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays and from Friday night to Monday morning. Empower went cold turkey on electronic gadgets after work except for the "once a year emergency," he said.

????Chapman says that his agency is thriving and attributes some of its success to having an energized staff, not an overburdened one. "When staff is at work, they're focused. When they're off, they take a break and recover," he said.

????When Chapman was out to dinner with his family, he could feel the BlackBerry vibrating in his jacket pocket, insisting to be answered. "Now I turn everything off. It's good for my family and my psyche," he said.

????Clients have adjusted to not being able to reach Empower's staff after working hours. Most consider the break healthy and only try to reach staff if a legitimate emergency arises, said Chapman.

????Moreover, the move has boosted retention. Empower PR has lost one person annually over the last few years. By comparison, several years ago, back when the firm had 10 or fewer employees, it was losing 50% of its staff every year. Chapman also says he now can recruit talented workers who seek a break from 24/7 availability.

????Cutting out email

????In February 2011, Thierry Breton, CEO of Atos, a French global IT services and consulting company with 70,000 employees in 42 countries, announced a three-year "zero email program." Despite the lofty name, the project isn't aiming to eliminate email, but drastically reduce its use. Email will only be used at Atos for vital customer communication and where it's required for documentation or legal reasons, but staffers are otherwise expected to communicate the old-fashioned way, by telephone or in person.

????Robert Shaw, global director of the company's zero email program, said Atos believes that "email has become overused. People are losing productivity because they're spending so much of their working time focusing on their inbox." Atos analyzed email use at the company and determined that 90% of emails didn't lead to a productive result and only 10% reached resolution.

????The company's employees are being trained to use alternative methods such as group instant messaging and workflow, an internal process which allows for approval/rejection items such as travel authorization. They are also being encouraged to return to what Shaw calls "a cherished practice of talking to each other face to face." Moreover, many of Atos' clients are eager to hear the results of its three-year project. They think their staff is spending too much time on email too, Shaw notes.