I came across an interesting report written recently by Lori Herz and Arnie Herz over at Legal Sanity titled “BEYOND BALANCE: How to Cultivate Work-Life Synergy in the Law.”
The report is written about the legal profession, but please feel free to insert your chosen profession where you read the words ‘law’, lawyer’, and/or ‘legal.’ I believe their observations ring true for many of us.
The Work-Life discussion rages hot-and-heavy. From National associations to corporate HR departments to non-profit organizations to think tanks to university work-life centers and foundations – everyone is getting involved in advancing the work-life debate.
But are all interested in achieving the true goal of work-life balance? That is,are all parties dedicated to, as the Third Path Institute rightly defines it, “assisting individuals, families, and organizations in finding new ways to redesign work to create more time for family, community and other life passions?”
According to a survey of office professionals by Yahoo! Hotjobs, the line between our personal time and professional time is being all but erased as more of us use laptops, mobile phones, and smart phones to stay connected.
This observation comes as no surprise to us.
The survey’s data reveal that “75 percent of respondents say that they use their wireless device equally for both work and personal purposes. In fact, only 8 percent report that they are completely offline when away from the office and 27 percent admit to being so attached to their wireless device, they only leave it alone when they’re sleeping.”
While we can all agree that technology is a wonderful thing, our never-ending tightrope walk is to make use of this technology without becoming a slave to it.
Separation of work life from our home and personal lives is becoming harder and harder. We are constantly being interrupted by ringing cell phones and PDAs beeping with new email messages waiting for our attention.
When we think we’ve escaped the microscope of our working lives, the lights are tuned up brightly and the wonders of technology pull us back – they often divert our attention from achieving what’s most important to us.
Evan Carmichael wrote in a recent Youngentrepreneur blog post titled “How To Find Your Calling” and posed the following question: “So how do you find your calling and get into something you stick with?”
Evan referenced a Fast Company article that suggested three steps:
The Winter 2007 edition of Business Week magazine’s Small Business edition features women who have fled flourishing corporate careers to pursue opportunities as entrepreneurs.
This Time It’s Mine: Why high-powered women are leaving Corporate America to become entrepreneurs profiles 18 corporate women and draws a picture for us of them “then and now.”
Last December the Center for Work-Life Policy released a report that ran in the December issue of the Harvard Business Review titled: “Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek.” The study characterized workers as “extreme” if they involved long hours (thus the 70 hour workweek mentioned in the title) and 5 categories of pressure relating to job performance.
Main factors attributed to extreme jobs are globalization, Blackberries, and Type A personalities. The study lists two huge personal costs of these jobs: Almost 60% of these workers beleieve their career undermines their relationship with their children. Additionally, 50% say their work interferes with their sex lives.
Intuit Inc. has released a report authored by the Institute for the Future that examines the future of small businesses and entrepreneurs over the next 10 years.
There is good news for us striving not only for work-life balance, but also for those of us who know that we must take ownership of the entire work-life balance discussion (see my post of March 6th in this blog).
Corporations are attempting and succeeding in framing the work-life discussion in a way that is most favorable to them.
The solutions that they provide generally don’t benefit their employees or enhance their life balance. In addition, the playing field being established doesn’t translate into our entrepreneurial world.
The e-book is now available at the very reasonable price of $37. This 73 page e-book comes as a printable PDF workbook, and as soon
Well, after much time and effort, I just finished my first e-book. It truly was a “labor of love.”
The title, “Your Life In Balance: A Breakthrough Guide for Creating the Life You Desire”, speaks for itself I think. It will be available on my Web site within the next few days at http://www.livellifeandsucceed.com
Not knowing what protocol is with regard to dedicating an e-book (as I’ve purchased several of them yet never read one with a dedication), but not being one to conform, I’ve determined that I would include my dedication in this blog. Here goes:
I live in southeastern Wisconsin, but I’m available to speak with entrepreneurs, small business owners, self-employed individuals, and freelance professionals from all areas – nationally and internationally.
Get your copies of the special reports Lifestyles in the Balance: Is Living a Balanced Life Possible in Today’s World? and Life Balance for Entrepreneurs.
Thanks to Caley Meals, Assistant Business Editor, for the following article which appeared as a feature in the Saturday edition of the Waukesha Freeman:
For those of you like me – entrepreneurs with families trying to juggle work and private time – there’s great news! I’ve just completed a report titled “Life Balance for Entrepreneurs with Families”. It will be available for download on the Web site late next week. Anyone wanting a FREE pre-release copy can email me
