My son says I work too much. He sees me at my desk when he leaves for school in the morning long before the start of the traditional workday. He often sees me there again when he first returns home from school in the afternoon. And he sees me sitting beside him and working again while he is doing his homework in the evening. He thinks I’m an anomaly. But I’m starting to realize that I may be the new norm.

Last week at the National Resume Writers’ Association conference, Business and Workplace Author and Speaker Alexandra Levit keynoted the conference with a presentation called The Future of Work. One of the trends she discussed was the rise of virtual work spaces followed by the rise of worker burnout. Levit reminded us that people like boundaries, but in the evolving world of work, boundaries are becoming fuzzier and fuzzier. Work and personal lives are  becoming intertwined to the point where it’s hard to differentiate which is which. For many of us, the world of  9 to 5 is gone as work and personal demands co-mingle and become a part of everything we do.

I sometimes pine for the days when a boss or client couldn’t reach you after 5pm, a business trip truly meant you had limited phone contact, and calling someone about work-related issues while they were on vacation was considered taboo. I constantly struggle with the efficiencies of the virtual workplace versus the far less efficient, yet saner workplace of decades ago. I revel in the fact that I can Skype with a client in Singapore for free, yet cringe at the fact that I may need to be available as early as 7am to accommodate the time difference and the expectations of that client. The new world of work fascinates me and terrifies me at the same time.

But it’s my Gen Z (demographic born in 1995 or later) son who lives for technology and never knew a world without it that has forced me to reexamine the impact technology has had on my life and encouraged me to take the leap of faith to “just say no” in certain work situations to create boundaries for myself.  Here’s my short list

1. Have at least one unscheduled hour in the morning or midday for exercise or just to clear my head.
2. Ban Droid usage and email checking on the subway and read a book instead.
3. Insist on a hard stop for at least an hour at 4:30 (on the days I am working from home) to welcome my son home and enjoy his company.
4. Set a time where my home office “closes” and I don’t return until the next day.
5. Limit email use for business on the weekends.