It may not be in the Oxford English Dictionary yet, but “weisure” is an increasingly important word.

For many people there is an increasing blurring of the lines between work time and leisure time. Though in days of old we might have expected to work 9-6 and have the rest of the time off, that is the case for fewer and fewer people. Whether you are doing more work at home in the evenings and on weekends (or even while on vacation), or engaging in more personal activities during traditional work hours, you are likely seeing this, too.

Part of this is for technological reasons. As broadband access at home became commonplace over the last decade, we found it easier to do work there. The decline of PCs in favor of laptops, and then tablets, mades it much easier to take work with us wherever we go. Smartphones not only make us reachable 24/7, we are reachable in many different ways…in addition to regular voice and SMS, there is free messaging to people overseas using WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, and others, as well as Skype and FaceTime, not to mention whatever communication you can get through Facebook. Maybe we don’t HAVE to be in touch 24/7, but we CAN be, and for many of us that leads us to be working even when we are away from work. At the same time, our increasing ability to stay in touch means we do not have to be in a black hole when we go to work; you can stay up on what your friends are doing while you are at your desk, and if it’s that easy to do, well, you are likely to do it.

Another factor is the type of work we are doing. The shift from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy leads to more jobs that can be done anywhere. An assembly line worker needs to be on an assembly line, but a graphic designer can be anywhere as long as there’s a computer (or maybe even just a pen and a sketch pad). At the same time, the information you need to do your work probably does not just come from your co-workers. Interacting with others — whether through reading blogs, or hitting Facebook, or WhatsApping — is a part of the knowledge work process, and you are more likely to benefit if you are doing that while working rather than by waiting until you get home and getting caught up on the day. As the nature of work changes, the requirements for getting that work done also change.

Creative employees are even more likely to see the growth of weisure because of another factor: enjoyment. As we enjoy our work more we are more inclined to do it for the simple pleasure of doing it…not just because we have to, but because we want to. If you are lucky enough to be doing something you really want to do — and increasingly, the Millennial generation seems to be looking at that aspect of a job rather than just at salary and benefits — you are likely to continue doing it even after the “official” end of the work day.

As a leader, you want to get the most out of your people. Weisure carries some obvious opportunities for you, and you will benefit from putting some thought into it. First, when it comes to leisure imposing itself into work time, let it happen, so long as the work is getting done. Don’t block Facebook on your network, don’t get on people if they are chatting, or reading…realize there’s a benefit from that, and also, if they are working for you in their “off” time then they are likely to do some stuff for themselves in their “on” time. You can facilitate the “work” in weisure if you make it easy for employees to access their work remotely, whether by storing files in the cloud or making it easy for them (but not for bad people) to access your servers at work. Help your employees understand the potential in various online meeting applications, whether something like Skype or Google Hangouts, or by purchasing webmeeting software, so they can collaborate away from the office.

As I’m writing this, I am also discussing it with a friend in Hong Kong (so by Skyping with him, am I letting leisure creep into my work?). He points out that much of this is “a jagged pill for many bosses to swallow.” He’s right, it is. Bosses seem quite happy to have people working during their off time, but aren’t too keen about letting leisure creep into work. They also may not feel like investing too much time or resources in making it easier to work away from the office, not realizing the benefits of it. But there is a natural shift in work styles as the requirements for work change, and if you are smart, you will figure out the best way to take advantage of it.