Dolly's Blog: Will someone hide my Blackberry?

"To check or not to check? That is the question. I'm talking of course about the Blackberry, a device which sometimes seems to liberate and enslave me in equal measure. Since having kids I work a four day week and, whilst I get in relatively early, my departure time is undeniably prompt. The upshot is that every commute sees me dealing with just a few more emails before I'm assaulted by small children and attempt to morph from city slicker into domestic goddess.  All fair enough. But what about once you're home and what about the days you don't work?  At this point my part-time friends' views differ wildly.  Some won't even use an out of office message on their days off, for fear it will be perceived as lack of commitment and career limiting. When the red light flashes they've replied faster than their full-time colleague. Whilst admiring their commitment I must confess I find that approach pretty depressing.

Others take a more militant line: "I'm not being paid for today, the whole point of which is to spend quality time with my kids".  Hard to fault the logic, but can we realistically draw lines to that extent? 

My own practices vary considerably and I'm never sure I've got the right balance. There are times when the juggling exercise feels so overwhelming that my device of doom remains hidden in a bag on silent, resolutely unchecked until Monday.  On those days I tell myself that if there's a real emergency then someone will call me and that working on a day off can send mixed messages to clients and colleagues alike. And on days when I'm incessantly checking I can't say the kids really get much quality time; a case of being there in body but not in mind. "Put it down Mummy!" was one of my daughter's earlier phrases. There was also the time my son's nose got bashed falling off a bench whilst I spoke to a client about something which at the time seemed terribly urgent - until the sight of a small child's blood all over the papers cast that judgment in a different light.

So for now I generally dabble, checking once or twice on my day off but trying not to get pulled in completely and rarely checking at weekends. Career limiting?  I suppose time will tell."

Dolly is an employment lawyer and partner in a London firm. Currently working four days a week, theoretically between the hours of 9 and 5.