The Working World

Living the Weisure Life

Thanks to the fadeout of 9-to-5 workdays and technology that keeps us reachable 24/7, more people are able to work hard and play hard … at the same time.

“Weisure” is the cute buzzword coined to describe the combo of employment and enjoyment. Not only are we Facebooking in the office, but we’re also checking our Blackberries on dates and emailing clients while watching “The Office.”  NYU sociologist Dalton Conley, who created the word, explains that Americans’ increased workloads make it easier to take a quick work phone call after hours than wait till you get to the office in the morning when you have more to do.

And now, our “social” networks like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are tools we’re using at work, too. But is squeezing in a bit of folly between meetings and deadlines a poor substitute for downtime? Click here to find out, after the jump.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun … at Work

“Yes,” says licensed professional counselor Melody Brooke. “And it’s necessary for a happy work environment.” Brooke is also an InterPlay — a form of creative play — teacher, and says, “Play opens new pathways in the brain and allows for a release of stress.”
“Recognizing the need to include play in our work is a vast improvement in the way we are working. It will make us live longer, happier lives and be more loyal to our employers,” she said.

And what about the other side of the weisure coin — working while you’re not technically at work? It’s all about how society is shifting, Conley told CNN. The culture will keep moving toward a working-all-the-time mentality until some people get tired of it and come up with a new way to do things…

Read the rest of this article here.

Tags: Blackberries, employment, facebook, leisure, social networking, technology, The Working World, Twitter, working at home, YouTube