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agents (Wajcman & Rose, 2011). When needed, they can approach toward modern technology can help develop the
engage in intentional acts of disconnection from technology capacity to bring out the best in oneself and enable others to
(Kolb, Caza, & Collins, 2012) to recreate the boundaries behave in a consistent, respectful way.
between their professional and personal identities on social
media (Ollier-Malaterre, Rothbard, & Berg, 2013) with the Conclusion
ultimate goal of crafting a technological life that corresponds
more closely to their preferences, goals, and needs. To this We challenge everyone to put down their phones for a while,
end, Powers (2010, p. 4) suggests the importance of estab- even if only for a few hours per day. Doing so could be a
lishing a personal digital philosophy consisting of “a way of helpful learning exercise through which we can discover
thinking that takes into account the human need to connect much about our work and nonwork habits and behaviors,
outward, to answer the call of the crowd, as well as the oppo- some of which we may be unaware. Many students who
site need for time and space apart.” completed the challenge of spending 1 day without technol-
Organizations would benefit from developing their own ogy discovered that they were addicted, even if they believed
digital philosophies. Such a philosophy could start by asking they were not before starting the challenge. It is important to
where and when technology is most appropriate and when it realize that fostering a novel approach to using mobile tech-
might instead isolate employees at a time that would be desir- nologies would also require greater attention and respect
able for their brains (and maybe their hearts, so to speak) to be toward employees’ time. For example, if managers want
more deeply connected. Business firms and the upcoming people to stop using their smartphones during business
generation of workers—the so-called Millennials, who are meetings and be more focused, they should also be sure that
digital natives—could benefit from considering how to such meetings have interesting content and relevant infor-
approach communication technologies in a way that can both mation. Otherwise, using a smartphone to complete more
enhance the benefits of intelligent technologies and minimize interesting tasks or read more interesting information will
the costs associated with their uncontrolled use. Given the per- continue to be a legitimate and socially accepted behavior
vasiveness of digital devices in contemporary society, and on such occasions.
given that business leaders are often the primary expressors of
an organizational culture, it is imperative that companies and Declaration of Conflicting Interests
their leaders set a good example that favors a more conscien- The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
tious use of mobile technologies at, and even away from work. to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Organizing meetings to share personal best practices
related to more socially beneficial uses of modern technolo- Funding
gies could be of particular usefulness. Opening a frank dia- The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support
logue with newcomers about the company’s expectations for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This
regarding connectivity practices at work—and even during research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities
nonworking hours—can also be important in reducing Research Council of Canada, grant #430-2014-00293.
ambivalence, aligning expectations, and promoting the wel-
fare of all the visible and invisible stakeholders of organiza- References
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