IS EVERY CHANGE A NEW OPPORTUNITY?

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Thursday, September 3, 2026

“EVERY new day is another chance to change your life.” Each morning offers us a fresh start – an opportunity to leave past mistakes behind and make choices that lead toward a better future.

Change is the only constant in life and in business. But change is not necessarily something to overcome. Instead, we should regard it as a catalyst for innovation, agility, and organizational resilience.

When we embrace change, we become more adaptable to new circumstances, situations, and people, and more receptive to the opportunities they offer. Welcoming change with enthusiasm enables us to discover possibilities for improvement and advancement.

The “best” quotation about life depends on what we need at a particular moment. One of the most widely loved and profound is, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – a line popularized by John Lennon.

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” British statesman Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) uttered these words in 1940, during the grim days of World War II.

Blood, tears, and sweat can also accompany the changes and challenges of daily life. How many times does life seem to challenge us to a duel? I am not talking about the provocative or defiant people around us who seem determined to block our progress or drag our lives into negativity.

Such people often make “much ado about nothing” – thank you, William Shakespeare, for that phrase. They may wear a curt, insincere smile, yet they have long refused to take even a single step toward confronting change or accepting a challenge.

The rest is silence. And allow me to quote Shakespeare again: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Change in life is both important and necessary. Let us alter what needs to be altered and make a difference. Let us exchange one thing for another, shift direction when necessary, leave one state for another, and put on fresh clothing for a new journey.

Change is a transformation from the old to the new, from the negative to the positive, from ignorance to knowledge, from doubt and worry to understanding and awareness, from fear to faith, from decline to growth, from sadness to happiness, and from “I cannot” to “I can!””

Nothing is permanent except change. It cannot be avoided, even if we close our eyes; it can only be delayed. Let us open our eyes and accept the challenge of building a successful life. Those who refuse to change risk being left behind. We cannot expect new results if we insist on using the same old ways.

Let us burn away the emotional baggage that keeps us locked in place. Perhaps one morning, after enduring periods of blood, tears, and sweat, we will awaken and finally discover that we are happy.

Here is my favorite quotation for anyone seeking the courage to embrace change and adapt to new situations: “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

The words are attributed to Alan Wilson Watts (Jan. 6, 1915-Nov. 16, 1973), an English writer, speaker, and self-styled “philosophical entertainer.”

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

WE LIVE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES…BUT HAVEN’T WE ALWAYS?

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

PEOPLE often look back at history as if it were stable, but every generation has faced wars, economic crashes, pandemics or rapid social changes.

The brain dislikes ambiguity. It prefers clear information. When the future is unclear, the mind may interpret the lack of answers as a potential threat, causing stress and anxiety.

There is also an “Uncertain Times” cycle. The phrase tends to become popular during crises. When life feels calm, it fades from use, even though the fundamental unpredictability of tomorrow never really goes away.

Uncertain times are usually understood as bad times. The phrase has been used to describe the decades of the Cold War, the sudden collapse of the housing market, the years of a pandemic and the nervous months before an election. When we are happy, content or confident—when ominous global powers fall, the housing market recovers, vaccines are developed and officials are finally sworn in—the phrase falls out of fashion.

The phrase “Certain Times,” by contrast, almost never appears. Yet that is precisely what “Uncertain Times” seems to imply: that while sometimes we do not know what will happen, at other times we somehow do. It is comforting. If there is uncertainty, then there must also be certainty.

Certainty—or uncertainty—is often a matter of feeling rather than fact. Of course, I know that “Uncertain Times” is simply shorthand for describing a general feeling of unease; no one is foolish enough to believe that they truly know the future. Or perhaps it is like the words “discombobulated,” “disgruntled” and “disgusted,” which seldom, if ever, appear without their prefixes.

But, rightly or wrongly, we do experience a sense of certainty. It would be impossible to go about our daily lives without it: By seven o’clock, the sun will be out. When I eat food, it will give me energy. When I drink this tea, it will not kill me. Certainty is relative. Certainty is also flimsy.

If you say that something is questionable, you mean that it is not completely honest, reasonable or acceptable. These have certainly been challenging times for all of us—times that can also be deeply thought-provoking.

No, I am not talking about political matters. Most of my fellow columnists are already doing that. More than enough. I am talking about times of darkness—times when the whole world seems to be against you and me.

No, I am not talking about corruption either. We have already heard enough about that. It is what many people who still believe and trust in a new beginning are talking about.

Allow me to become very personal. I remember difficult, problematic and questionable periods in my life and surroundings when I almost lost all my strength to confront the problems before me. Life’s path became narrow. Fears grew: It’s enough. It’s enough!

I am talking about personal matters. But I also observe the people around me. We are all—yes, please count me in—starting to become awkward and irritable. I find myself reluctant to accept the good ideas of others. I feel driven into a corner. Everything seems to have become a problem. Our voices rise, and our groans become louder and louder.

Creating the life you want while dealing with uncertainty does not happen overnight. It is found in the little things. It is about having a vision and making it compelling. It is about seeing and feeling it with genuine emotion.

It is about caring for other people. It is calling someone simply to say, “I love you,” for no particular reason. It is taking every opportunity to connect, to be playful, and to honor and cherish the people you love.

In my personal case, I suddenly experienced how God put me into life’s “reconversion plant” and refreshed me. Small but meaningful and important acts of care suddenly appeared. After a hot day and a refreshing thunderstorm, we may once again be able to enjoy the following day and night. The person who insulted us suddenly apologizes; the illness disappears.

“You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me!” (Psalm 23:5).

I am glad. I really do not know what new spitefulness my next “enemy on duty” might bring in the near future. I do not even want to know. I have learned that negativity blocks life and its plans.

Given just how common and recurrent uncertainty is, there will always be people ready to capitalize on it—and others willing to pay to be rid of it.

Op-ed writers, pundits, religious figures, scholars, consultants, influencers and hot-takers are always ready to prescribe remedies for our feelings of uncertainty: travel preparedness, political influence, literature, advice from football coaches, insurance, environmental sustainability and self-acceptance. Yet their advice rarely seems to be that perhaps we should simply learn to live with uncertainty.

Once, we consulted oracles and soothsayers. Then we looked to prophets and religious figures. We read tea leaves and Tarot cards. And no matter the epoch, we have always been vulnerable to despots and demagogues promising to create certainty for us.

Today, we search for certainty in the vast, nebulous sea of data. We implore statisticians to tell us who is going to win an election—or even a baseball game. Yet we rarely ask them how we might simply become comfortable with not knowing.

Sad to say, many people still do not seem to be in the mood to follow Christ’s advice…!

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

BEST WISHES AND GOODBYE

 

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Thursday, August 27, 2026

WHEN letters were the only form of written correspondence, signing off was obvious. Actually, I still follow that old tradition, whether it comes to letters or emails. It is simply a matter of respect and good manners.

If addressing a sir or madam, the convention was unambiguous: you concluded with “Yours faithfully.” When writing to a specific person — for example, a Mr. or Ms. (hey, ladies first!) — it was equally simple: your letter would always be signed off with “Yours sincerely.” Only missives to family members or close friends would ever end with “Love from” or “With much love, yours.”

For many people, there seems to be a weird status thing when it comes to how blunt you can be in emails. I ask myself: Why? An email is still a letter — just an online one.

Sad to say, the arrival of email has disrupted this etiquette, making the rules far less obvious. Indeed, for many of us, there are no rules anymore. A whole subculture of personalized email sign-offs has emerged, ranging from “TTFN” to “peace out.” And, of course, it is not just what we say but why we say it. This is true not only in English but in other languages as well. I encounter the same thing in German emails, letters and even text messages.

“Emails have become the medium of business, leisure, family, love and everything,” says children’s author Michael Rosen. When we sign off emails, we try to give off the “right vibe,” he adds. He says it is all about how we want to come across to the recipient: “Thoughtful, grateful or just very, very busy?” Oh sure, we are all so very, very busy….

Some of the most successful businesspeople are notoriously blunt in email communication — if they even bother with a sign-off at all.

“There’s a weird status thing when it comes to the more blunt you are in emails, the more you can be (blunt) because you’re senior in the company,” says author Emma Gannon, recalling the editor of a famous newspaper whose response to pitches was often just a curt “yep” or “nope.”

Although being succinct can convey a certain authority and status, it can also communicate a dose of self-importance or arrogance. And we have all dealt with bosses who fire off email edicts such as “Is this done?” or “Update me on that.”

Even if they are not quite so direct, many emailers like to convey a sense of being busy by using or adapting abbreviations. Thus, “kind regards” becomes “KR,” while “yours” may dispense with those pesky vowels and become “yrs.” Heaven forbid!

“When someone signed off ‘BR’ for ‘best regards’, I just thought they were cold, brrr,” says Gannon. In my opinion — sorry to say — I sometimes do not even reply anymore after receiving such correspondence. Oh sure, we are all busy, but there should at least be a minimum level of respect when communicating with someone, whether in business or in our personal lives, and whether by letter, email or text message.

Then there are those who pare things down to the absolute minimum, signing off simply with their name or even just the initial letter of their first name. Others might omit a sign-off altogether. While this may come across as peremptory or rude, at least it avoids misinterpretation.

Emails are nearly formal, but not totally formal. At the same time, they are not quite as informal as “CU in a MNT on bus OMW.”

Some people swing the other way and end their emails on an altogether friendlier note. While most would consider kisses to have no place in a business environment, they often creep into emails — sometimes from people the recipient has never even met. For some, an “x” at the end of an email is a friendly endnote; for others, it is totally inappropriate.

Even simply calling someone by their first name is not always the way it should be in business.

What is clear is that some British terms used to end emails simply do not translate well. A casual “cheers” is frequently used as a sign-off in UK emails but can be utterly perplexing to other nationalities. That is hardly surprising when a hearty “cheers” can also accompany the clinking of glasses at the pub or be used to thank a checkout person at the supermarket. Here, too, we have to deal with the differences between British and American English.

For author Michael Rosen, emails now occupy a halfway house between text messages and traditional letters.

“The key thing is that emails aren’t the same as letters. I position them in my mind as a sort of halfway place between texts and hard copy letters: nearly formal but not totally formal, but they’re not as informal as ‘CU in a MNT on bus OMW’,” says Rosen. I strongly agree with him.

And, he adds, given their place in this ambiguous no-man’s-land of communication, it follows that there will continue to be a whole raft of ways to say “goodbye.”

Perhaps that is the point. To say goodbye with deeper meaning, use words that honor the bond you share, acknowledge the sadness of parting, or simply wish someone peace and happiness on the road ahead. Sometimes, a thoughtful farewell can say far more than a simple “bye.”

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, X/Twitter or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

FAMILY AS FOUNDATION OF SOCIETY

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

ARTICLE XV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation and requires the State to strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its development. It declares marriage an inviolable social institution, protects the rights of the family, and mandates care for children and the elderly.

The family is considered the fundamental unit and bedrock of society, essential to social stability, continuity, and the early socialization of individuals. It shapes personalities, instills values such as honesty and love, and provides essential emotional and practical support. Strong family units contribute to greater social solidarity and can help reduce crime and poverty.

Having lived permanently in the Philippines since 1999, I have come to understand this more deeply. I have learned many things from being part of a Filipino family. I was born in a parish house in Germany, but years later, I also experienced what it meant to survive in a broken family.

My Philippine mentor, Hermogenes E. Bacareza, former chaplain of the Philippine community in Berlin and author of German-Philippine Relations, taught me in 1988 that the Christian family is also called to be a sacrament. Like the Church, family members are called to be Christ to one another as well as to the broader community. By becoming what they are called to be, families live a sacramental life, allowing the sacred to emerge through the ordinary things of everyday life.

What on earth can be a greater sign of God’s grace than the authentic, self-giving love of a fully committed married couple whose love for each other brings forth life, embraces their children, and ultimately reaches beyond the family? This, I believe, is the new vision of the Christian family for the 21st century.

Authority, stability, and a life built on relationships within the family provide the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity in society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and learn to use freedom responsibly.

Families are central to God’s plan for His children. They are the fundamental building blocks of strong societies. Families are where we experience love and learn how to love others. Life can be tough, and we all need people we can lean on.

What, then, is the purpose of family? Family bonds are important because they help us through both the most difficult and the happiest moments of our lives. Family can provide support, security, and unconditional love. Family members can also see and bring out the best in us, even when we cannot see it ourselves.

Since residing in the Philippines, I have experienced how important family is to Christians. Family bears witness to the Lord’s faithful love for the Church and for all humanity. It makes present, in a concrete and daily way, the reciprocity and beauty of the love that characterizes God’s life. Family is a rich school where we learn to be humane and generous, patient and steadfast, just and merciful, faithful and committed. It teaches us how to live together and remain connected.

Whether headed by a single parent or by a mother and father; childless or with children; living in big cities or in the countryside; in harmony or struggling with conflict and domestic violence; living in their home country or as refugees; at peace or caught in war; married, cohabiting, separated, or remarried; healthy or dealing with illness or addiction; free or in prison; living in a house or experiencing homelessness; able-bodied or disabled; working locally or away from home; with or without pets — whatever form a family may take, all families are precious in the eyes of God.

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn or X (Twitter), or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

 

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Thursday, August 20, 2026

THE APHORISM “laughter is the best medicine” has been associated with the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” This ancient wisdom may indeed hold true, particularly when it comes to our physical and emotional well-being.

It’s true: laughter can be powerful medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body.

Laughter strengthens the immune system, boosts the mood, diminishes pain, and helps protect us from the damaging effects of stress. Few things work as quickly or dependably as a good laugh in bringing the mind and body back into balance.

Humor lightens our burdens, inspires hope, connects us with others, and keeps us grounded, focused, and alert. It can also help us release anger and forgive more easily.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for overcoming problems, strengthening relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

As children, we used to laugh hundreds of times a day. As adults, however, life tends to become more serious, and laughter becomes less frequent. By deliberately seeking more opportunities for humor and laughter, we can improve our emotional health, strengthen our relationships, find greater happiness — and perhaps even add years to our lives.

Laughter can boost the immune system. It decreases stress hormones while increasing immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thereby improving the body’s resistance to disease.

Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and may even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter can also benefit the heart. It improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which may help protect against heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.

Laughter even burns calories. Okay, it is certainly no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn approximately 40 calories. Over the course of a year, that could theoretically be enough to shed three or four pounds.

Laughter also lightens anger’s heavy load. Few things can defuse anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side of a situation can put problems into perspective and enable us to move on from confrontations without holding on to bitterness or resentment.

Laughter may even help us live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who laughed less. The difference was particularly notable among those battling cancer.

More than simply providing respite from sadness and pain, laughter can give us the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult times, a laugh — or even just a smile — can go a long way toward making us feel better. And laughter really is contagious: simply hearing someone laugh can prime the brain and make us ready to smile and join in the fun.

Laughter can also shift our perspective, allowing us to see situations in a more realistic and less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help prevent us from feeling overwhelmed while also helping to defuse conflict.

Perhaps most importantly, laughter draws us closer to other people, and these human connections can have a profound effect on our mental and emotional well-being.

Laughter releases endorphins, often called “feel-good hormones.” It also increases our intake of oxygen-rich air and reduces stress hormones, helping lower the heart rate and blood pressure while allowing the muscles to relax.

But what if we feel we have no reason to laugh? Even then, we should try to express a little mirth and find reasons to be cheerful. We can start with the gentlest form of audible laughter — the vocalized smile. This is something I have learned and experienced since I first began traveling in Asia in 1978 and, later, when I settled permanently in the Philippines in 1999. Keep smiling — even when you are overwhelmed by enormous problems.

Experts also say that good humor works because it helps people feel more at ease. French psychotherapist Sylvie Tenenbaum has observed that, among her patients, laughter often signals the beginning of a healthy awakening to reality. Gallows humor may be viewed with doubt or discomfort by others, but sometimes we simply need to express what is inside us.

Try to sing out loud. Try to cry. But above all, try to laugh!

As a devout Christian, I love reading the Bible. Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 reminds us: “There is a time for everything … a time to be born and a time to die … a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh!”

And perhaps that is one of life’s simplest lessons: there will always be a time for tears and difficulties, but we should never forget that there must also be a time for laughter.

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com/PN

THE RIGHT TO DISCONNECT

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

THE “RIGHT to disconnect” is a legal or workplace concept that allows employees to ignore work-related messages, calls, and e-mails outside of regular working hours without facing negative consequences. It aims to reduce burnout and establish a clear boundary between personal life and professional duties.

The right to disconnect is not yet a standalone law in the Philippines. While lawmakers have repeatedly filed measures like House Bill No. 9735 to amend the Labor Code, these bills remain pending in Congress. However, labor officials maintain that employees are not required to face disciplinary action for ignoring non-urgent work messages off-hours.

A LIFE WITHOUT CELL PHONE?

I remember the time when one of my first Japanese friends kept on complaining why I didn’t operate a cellphone. Believe me, during that time, sometime in 2000 or 2001, I was even typing my articles on an old typewriter from Germany.

My Japanese friend then bought me a computer – and a cellphone! Some other friends congratulated me: “Welcome back to the world!”

Sometimes, I observe business-people operating with two or even more cellphones at the same time. I ask them: “How did you survive doing business before without these units?” Believe me or not, the answers have been mostly, “I really don’t know!”

Doing business nowadays without a cellphone? Even a very private life? I can’t imagine it anymore. The Philippines’ cellphone companies really provide us with the widest distribution and the broadest coverage to very affordable charges or even for free. I really enjoy, for example, the unlimited call experience – just to mention one.

Two handsets or even three. Okay lang, as long as it keeps my business running. 

Journalist Chris Stokel-Walker explained it very well: for the average working person, there’s no greater feeling than powering down your computer and kissing goodbye to your avalanche of work e-mails for the day. If we’re lucky enough to disconnect from the job on evenings and weekends, we’re overjoyed to leave work e-mails and the stress that comes with it in the office.

But experts say we’re increasingly failing to do so, instead bringing the burden home with us and fielding emails during our free time. Unsurprisingly, this routine has some serious consequences.

Now, it is a reflex, like checking my Facebook or Twitter timeline. Yes, it’s indeed so – but never 24/7.

Working abnormal or long hours has long been linked with depression, anxiety and even coronary heart disease. Crucially, the importance of weekend recovery has also been correlated with weekly job performance and personal initiative, while further research revealed psychological detachment during off-work time reduced emotional exhaustion caused by high job demands and helped people stay engaged.

So, if we know all this, it begs the question: why are we still letting work invade our precious weekends? 

According to Cary Cooper, professor of organizational psychology at Manchester Business School and president of the CIPD, the recent trend even spills into the way we access our work communications and projects.

Today, says Cooper, work emails are just a tap of a smartphone away. “You don’t carry your laptop around when you’re out to dinner, but you do carry your mobile phone,” he says. “The smartphone changed everything.”

The right to disconnect is a proposed human right regarding the ability of people to disconnect from work and primarily not to engage in work-related electronic communications such as e-mails or messages during non-work hours. The modern working environment has been drastically changed by new communication and information technologies. The boundary between work life and home life has shrunk with the introduction of digital tools into employment. While digital tools bring flexibility and freedom to employees, they also can create an absence of limits, leading to excessive interference in the private lives of employees

If we don’t switch off from work we don’t recover from work. We should get the right to be disconnected. At night or during weekends.

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, X – Twitter or LinkedIn or visit my www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

The right to disconnect

 

Sharing valuable information and public service from the No. 1 regional newspaper in Western Visayas. https://lnk.bio/panaynews.

By Klaus Döring 

The "right to disconnect" is a legal or workplace concept that allows employees to ignore work-related messages, calls, and emails outside of regular working hours without facing negative consequences. It aims to reduce burnout and establish a clear boundary between personal life and professional duties.

The right to disconnect is not yet a standalone law in the Philippines. While lawmakers have repeatedly filed measures like House Bill No. 9735 to amend the Labor Code, these bills remain pending in Congress. However, labor officials maintain that employees are not required to face disciplinary action for ignoring non-urgent work messages off-hours.

A LIFE WITHOUT CELL PHONE? I remember the time, when one of my first Japanese friends kept on complaining, why I didn't operate a cellphone. Believe me, during that time, sometime in 2000 or 2001, I was even typing my articles on an old typewriter from Germany.

My Japanese friend then bought me a computer - and a cellphone! Some other friends congratulated me: "Welcome back to the world!" 

Sometimes, I observed (business-)people operating with two or even more cellphones at the same time. I asked them: "How did you survive doing business before without these units?" Believe me or not. The answers have been mostly: I really don't know!

Doing business nowadays without a cellphone? Even a very private life? I can't imagine it anymore. Philippines' cellphone companies really provide us with the widest distribution and the broadest coverage to very affordable charges or even for free. I really enjoy, for example, the unlimited call experience - just to mention one.

Two handsets or even three. Ok lang, as long as it keeps my business running. 

Journalist Chris Stokel-Walker explained it very well: for the average working person, there’s no greater feeling than powering down your computer and kissing goodbye to your avalanche of work emails for the day. If we’re lucky enough to disconnect from the job on evenings and weekends, we’re overjoyed to leave work emails and the stress that comes with it in the office.

But experts say we’re increasingly failing to do so, instead bringing the burden home with us and fielding emails during our free time. Unsurprisingly, this routine has some serious consequences.

Now, it is a reflex, like checking my Facebook or Twitter timeline. Yes, it's indeed so - but never 24/7.

Working abnormal or long hours has long been linked with depression, anxiety and even coronary heart disease. Crucially, the importance of weekend recovery has also been correlated with weekly job performance and personal initiative. While further research revealed psychological detachment during off-work time, reduced emotional exhaustion caused by high job demands and helped people stay engaged.

So, if we know all this, it begs the question: why are we still letting work invade our precious weekends? 

According to Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at Manchester Business School and president of the CIPD, the recent trend even spills into the way we access our work communications and projects.

Today, says Cooper, work emails are just a tap of a smartphone away. “You don’t carry your laptop around when you’re out to dinner, but you do carry your mobile phone,” he says. “The smartphone changed everything.”

The right to disconnect is a proposed human right regarding the ability of people to disconnect from work and primarily not to engage in work-related electronic communications such as e-mails or messages during non-work hours. The modern working environment has been drastically changed by new communication and information technologies. The boundary between work life and home life has shrunk with the introduction of digital tools into employment. While digital tools bring flexibility and freedom to employees they also can create an absence of limits, leading to excessive interference in the private lives of employees

If we don’t switch off from work we don’t recover from work. We should get the right to be disconnected. At night or during weekends.

+++

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, X - Twitter or LinkedIn or visit my www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .