Microsoft program helps reconcile work and home life

First Apple Inc. has implemented its iPhone software to combat screen dependence. Today, Microsoft Corp. offers business software to help restore the balance between work and private life.

Microsoft's MyAnalytics program, part of its Office cloud software, allows employees to track metrics, such as time spent in meetings or the use of email. You already know when someone is working outside normal working hours, but it will also indicate the number of "days off" of the user, that is, the days on which employees get to work. disconnect after work. People can also set goals to increase the number of these types of days. Let's see this as a tracker of exercises, but for mental health.

Soon, the program will also help users to program "concentration time" to focus on certain projects without interruption and warn colleagues not to interrupt. If the focus time is interrupted in any way, an Outlook calendar feature suggests other free time to focus again.

Microsoft is famous for having too many meetings and Executive Director Satya Nadella knows how much this can affect worker productivity. One of his first decisions after becoming a director in 2014 was to allow employees to simply dismiss them. Nadella herself uses this type of tool to follow her program with rigor and thus avoid wasting time. However, like many of these alerts, they only help if the user pays attention, it is very easy to ignore them.