Is it acceptable for business to have martini time or should we schedule communication breaks?

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As we are all easily contactable via smart phones, iPads and laptops that are often connected 24/7 should there be a cut off for communication or is martini time acceptable?

I seem to have slipped into the habit of social media shifting away from the traditional 9-5 communication channels and making it acceptable to tweet, email, facebook or whatever whenever you felt the need… or have I got it wrong?

I recently attended a trade show on a Saturday which failed miserably to live up to the expectations created by the rookie trade show creator.  They may have had guru in their Twitter handle but as is often the case this usually means they are anything but… when you are told to prepare for 250 goody bags and that over 60 people are booked in for the webinars you sort of expect more than a handful of people through the doors… around lunchtime, having finished emails and spoken to most of the 25 exhibitors I sent an email to the organiser saying this.  I also mentioned it would have been nice to have a chat and been given the ropes of the day i.e. bathroom facilities, lunch arrangements and drinks… and the fact that we arranged our own food and drinks as the hotel was not providing any where near enough for the exhibitors queueing.

It was responded to in part the following day, so I mentioned that my email points had been cherry picked… to receive one back that had a go for “conducting emails like this on a Sunday was not professional.”  Sadly neither was the way the show was organised, advertised or handled but as I have chosen to be very nice and not name and shame them I shall chalk it up to inexperience in a very difficult world and fortunately for me it really doesn’t matter…

Communication at these events is vital especially as they are fraught with problems that need to be overcome… are the seminars too long, are the speakers going to turn up, will everyone be able to fit, are the facilities good enough, can everything be accessed by everyone, will those registered turn up, will something happen to stop people getting there, will the exhibitors turn up and is everything ready and organised… sadly this event faced most of these issues and the organiser ended up in tears half way through the day.  Events are a tough nut to crack.

However back to the original point… are we really still in the 9-5 Monday to Friday world or have the boundaries moved?  I often get messages on Facebook and Twitter for business things late at night and respond.. emails would bleep whilst I am asleep if I didn’t turn off the phone and Twitter updates are silenced in the settings after 11pm just in case I forget… I regularly respond to emails close to the witching hour and it’s not unknown to answer emails, tweets etc on my mobile whilst waiting for food to be ready or in a queue… However I wouldn’t dream of calling someone after 8.30pm unless I know them very well or even answer my phone again unless I know them very well… and have been told off by hubby in the past for not taking work related calls at that time of night… is it just me that thinks that calls are a set time or should there be a social media etiquette?

I have people I communicate with all over the world so when it is early or late for me it isn’t for them… However, we probably should have switch off time… where we press the shut down button on the laptop or turn smart phones off… and go and do something else that doesn’t involved tapping at technology… our “friends” will probably still be there when we get back… or followers may be listening and probably won’t notice the silence and the world will still rotate… we however could be refreshed and vibrant from a walk in the fresh air or a pleasant meal that is not interrupted by a series of bleeps and buzzing and revolves around real conversation rather than the on-line version.  Just because social media makes on-line communication martini time does not mean we should do it any time, any place anywhere… or should we?

Amanda
photo credit: Kyle May via photopin cc

About AmandaHill
Former Journalist, Ghost Blogging, Raving fan of social media tools you can find Amanda at the Social Media Cafe on Facebook M: 07976 808811
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