Remember when snow days were actually snow days, when you had an extra day off and could lounge on the couch watching re-runs of Sex and the City? Well, in case you’ve missed the funeral of the good ol’ Mr. Snow Day, here’s the non-official obituary: “Mr. Snow Day, born since the dawn of ages, died in the advent of technology and ever-connectedness. Mr. Snow Day leaves behind a regretful trail of well-wishers ever hopeful to play in the snow, snuggle on the couch and eat carbs all day. It will be forever remembered as a fond time, away from Mrs. Adulthood and Mr. Responsibility, devoid of work emails and Office Communicator blinking lights, when one did not have to go over Mother Nature’s head just to get work shit done. RIP!”
Even as Juno is plowing through the Northeast, we know it, snow days are officially dead! What we now have are “snowy work days”, when you’re supposed to get up, log in, and do some work, albeit in your pajamas and day-old socks! With telecommuting growing at the rate of 80% from 2005 to 2012, we no longer just work at work, we work everywhere! On the bathroom seat as our Blackberry lights are blinking, on a (bad) date, in (crazy) traffic, in the doctor’s waiting room, heck in the delivery room right before pushing the baby out, and now, on the one day we could officially play hooky and thank Mother Nature for it…After all, what else other than a combination of icy roads and snowed-in cars can give us an excuse to sign off from the world of responsible grown-ups? What better excuse to get back at Time and slow down to play in the snow with the kids? What…
Well, apparently, a whole world of Wi-Fi and remote connection that’s managed to turn work into the boyfriend from hell who can never seem to leave you alone. Work is everywhere, it’s watching you, tracking your online presence, checking your documents’ version history, ready to download your career in a click! And apparently, there is no logging off, not even on good ol’ snow days…
RIP Mr. Snow Day, you will be missed dearly!
The Corporate Sis.
