by Paul Gibson
Home >> Paperless Office?
Why? Well, it all has to do with the increasing number of work-related health hazards. Using computers on a daily basis can be physically exhausting and may impair your health in many unforeseen ways. Reading the computer screen or typing a report can be very detrimental to your vision, your wrists, and even your ears, depending on if you are listening to music while you work.
So what are workers doing to protect themselves from the potential health risks? Well, that is the question of the week. Some people have installed protective screens to their computers to diminish the “glare� of their computer desktops. Others wear wrist bands and sometimes glasses (even sunglasses on casual Fridays) to thwart the effects of long hours in front of their PC.
Even mobile phones which are the latest thing can also be harmful to our health in certain ways. If you are not accustomed to holding your hand to your ear all day, you are in for the surprise of your life! Of course, you can always use the “earphone� or “speakerphone� option to talk to your clients, but then again – if you are like most of us – there are a lot of people around, so you would never really do this.
Some people are even talking about our youth having “thumb� problems because they are sending so many SMS messages all over the place. As a sidenote, they even mention the emergence of a new language or SMS language which actually contributes to some apparently simple mistakes in grammar and punctuation. “u no ?� Lol!�
So the question remains: are we advancing with technology, or is technology weighing on us? Many businesses got together and came up with a plan to cut costs: the paperless environment. Look! We can save on paper, space, and even cut turnover times of data transmission and information flow in half! Workers can now communicate and even if they are not physically present, we can still let them know what we want at a moment’s notice via email. What a great invention!
The idea of creating data backup centres in “silos� became the latest business trend and chipmakers went crazy trying to come up with the latest storage techniques to accommodate the new electronic filing systems. Workers were taught new ways to “save� their information and organize their workloads. Everyone was happy! Only one problem: they discovered that the actual costs they were supposed to avoid were actually not worthwhile. Some found their clients demanding paper copies of legal documents and electronic copies of certain documents were even prohibited.
The problem: E-files can easily be manipulated by an experienced computer user. And then came the solution: PDF files. No one can write over a PDF file. Great idea! I think…. Some realized that this was a great idea, until they noticed that if they made a mistake on their original document, it was forever recorded and never to be erased. NO SECOND CHANCES FOR YOU!
So now we are back to square one. Which would you rather have: carpo tunnel syndrome, hearing impairments, vision problems, etc. OR.. return to the simple life and write a note or two using your own bare hands!
Add a comment
Hello Paul,
I think that enterprises make decitions that in one way or another are going to benefit their business.
In that last decade or two being nice to the enviroment has become a must for any Company. The objective is to return to society some of the income of the Company. These ecological and/or social actions improve the image clients have of the Company.
Technology is sometimes seen as a risk, too much automation could lead us to lose our jobs, be replaced by robots…so we are forced to adapt ourselves to new paradigms.
Do people in technologically advanced countries have high unemployment? Did trained typists start jumping from skyscrapers with the advent of cheap word processing computers? Of course not.
Let’s not get scared with technology and try to overcome the risks it could bring up, it’s main goal is to help us…isn’t it?
Best regards,
Cristina
Amen to that Cristina!
Technology is “supposed to” help us! This is what I think people like Bill Gates and his “Billanthropy” (philanthropy) are all about…enough criticism of Microsoft corporation from the EU!
Paul,
I was talking about technology, not Microsoft…let’s be serious! he he he
Regards, Cristina
Eamon,
I hardly agree with some points of this article, such as “being a lot of hours in front of a computer screen is not healthy�, “using the mobile phone for sending hundreds of SMS can’t be good for your thumb� and aspects not mentioned like the avalanche of new devices, methods for program, connecting or using them. You have just finished learning how to use something when you have to start learning a new device again (because technology has advanced, advanced?).
But, on the other side, what about the usefulness of Internet when you need to search information it doesn’t matter what about. Or the usefulness of a mobile phone if your are in a lonely road with your broke down car.
As a good example, I’ve heard your voice and I’ve wrote this note through a computer.
My conclusion is that, as every thinks in this live, thinks are neither good nor bad, it depends the way you use them.
Cristina: I know you were talk ing about technology, I was just taking advantage of the opportunity to mention a very well-known businessman who offers quite a bit of technology these days to his clients around the world. I think he, along with other telecommunications companies, are making quite a bit of money from the latest wave of new technologies, which I think is great…. but at what cost?
Excellent observations AA! (Anonymous)
I agree that “most” technology is neither good nor bad, but I have to admit that there are certain technologies that have been developed such as technology that allows missiles to be launched, which – I must admit- I would rather they had never been manufactured….
Paul…
I was talking in the name of an IT sector that doesn’t think of Microsoft as technology but as a pain in the butt.
Regards,
Cristina
Indeed, Microsoft can be just that, Cristina (let’s use Linux…). Now what about Movistar? Speaking of pains in butts… ! Ha!
Technology is a good servant but a bad master. Anything we can do to save the planet’s resources (using less paper, recycling, lowering our expectations etc) is obviously a good thing. I get all the mail I can from banks and official bodies through internet and I only print if it’s important.
Microsoft’s genius is not it’s technology. Firefox is better than Explorer and Thunderbird is much better than OUtlook. Linux will be doing all the rest of that stuff soon (if it’s not doing so already). Microsoft’s genius is in marketing! The 5 P’s of marketing excellently achieved. Bill Gates may have used some over protective business practices but he is doing good with the money he earned.
if we keep a sense of perspective and remember to keep things on a human scale, we’ll have a great future. Unless World War III breaks out….but that’s another Weekly Letter.
Thanks for all your comments! I am with Donal, let’s keep everything human…If you think about it, when you write a letter to someone, especially if it’s a family member, you take time out of your day to think about what you are going to write before writing it. You can’t use the “autocorrect” function like we have on computers, so it takes more time, but you are glad to do it!
While Linux, Thunderbird and Firefox may be the wave of the future, they are sure taking their time. I love your comments on Microsoft, but to be honest, the only reason they are in trouble with the EU is for a controversial “technology” they use that only allows their MS browser to work using Microsoft Windows…so I guess you may have to add that to the 5 P’s as the competitive market advantage they enjoy. Envy is a very strong thing…when people see money, they go for it! No exceptions.
There is a proverb : each other past time was better”. The technology is very useful and we can do may things quicker, but if the system collapse, we are lost.
Conchi
Excellent reminder Conchi!
It ought to be very interesting to see what happens if there is ever a power outage in the new City of Telecommunications..that would be a very dangerous, compromising position to be in!
While I find your normally perspicacious reporting of issues to be helpful, it may be a good idea to depend less on technology and more on the old-fashioned intellectual virtue of thoroughly proofreading your work. In neither the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary nor the Oxford English Dictionary, do I find the word ‘Carpo’. Surely you meant ‘carpal’ in reference to the human wrist (carpus). I do hope this is helpful.
~ I. Cekolinovich
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