Time Is More Valuable

“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” In the essay “How America Has Run Out Of Time”, Nancy Gibbs discusses how the inclusion of technology into the workforce has a negative impact on the lives of Americans. Technology was designed to make work easier and faster providing extra time that can be spent freely. Instead, it had the opposite effect causing longer work hour and less time for family. I believe technology in the work place may have a deeper impact American life. Technology has helped to change the nature of the work. Technology like the Internet has helped to connect businesses internally as well as globally with information. Communication has become fast and simple with the use of email and video or phone conference, but at the same time it has made the work place impersonal. With this it reduces the need to meet face to face. Socialization within the work place decrease and there is less “water cooler moments” where employees meet and have conversations. There is a decrease sense of trust, bonds and teamwork present. With the decline in trust there is a decline in work-life balance. Technology provides us with a limitless supply of information and a way to stay connected. “There are phones in the car, laptops in the den, and humming fax machine eliminates the once peaceful lull between completing a document and delivering it. (602)” The constant connectivity slowly blurs the line between work and leisure. In a sense people are always working. People are able to continue their work at home after leaving the office or even work from home. Even when they are not working, employees can access and reply to email messages from work via their computer and cell phone. As work days increased, negative health effects did as well. Long working hours does not only affect a worker's productivity. Long hours meant less time for an individual to rest, which can create sleeping problems and increase the