That’s what Susie Wee asks over at her HP Research, Technology, & Teamwork blog.
You see, Susie is conflicted – she’s laying on a beach in sunny Hawaii, blogging away, and feeling a little bit guilty that she’s not able to “sit back, relax, and reflect.”
Susie feels that she may be rationalizing things
I came across this E-tool Bill of Rights at FastCompany.com and wanted to share it with you:
Article 1: There shall be no assumption of unlimited e-access simply because the tools allow it. Excessive messaging shall be considered electronic littering.
Article 2: The right of the people to be secure from unwarranted electronic work intrusions at home shall not be violated. Nights and weekends shall be considered unplugged zones.
In an earlier post today, I wrote about examining our motives when it comes to buying things – goods and services – to seemingly make our lives easier.
The vicious cycle looks like this: We work hard and long, so we wind up dining out several nights a week, or we hire a service to attend to our lawn or our homes or our pets because we “don’t have enough time.” We rely upon these things, and they become integral to our new budgets. This becomes our new ‘norm.’
We then want still more, so we work even harder, finding ourselves with even less time …. The pattern goes on and on.
Check out this post from A.J. Donnison, “the grumpy developer in the corner: Retail Therapy or Low Self Esteem?
‘Retail Therapy’ refers to something many of us indulge in: the act of buying something to make ourselves feel better after working many long hours. It may seem innocent enough, but, as Adam points out, it might serve us well to examine out motives:
Tom Peters, management ‘guru’ and author of In Search of Excellence has this message for us:
“Life-work balance is pretty much an illusion if you want to make an impact in today’s economy.”
Speaking on a panel at a Leadership Forum at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, Peters pointed out that executives at General Electric “arrive at the office every day at 6:15 a.m.”
According to a recent survey of worldwide senior executives conducted by the Association of Executive Search Consultants, “87 percent felt that work-life balance considerations were critical in their decision whether to join, or remain with, an employer.”
Aileen Taylor, AESC member and Managing Director of Eric Salmon & Partners Limited, observed: “For the first time in twenty plus years in the personal care market place, I am seeing candidates prepared to down-size both their salaries and their prospects within large organizations in favor of quality of life.”
Well, it’s snowing here. I find it extremely ironic that the Cleveland Indians are in town playing ball at Miller Park due to the snow storm in Ohio and because our stadium offers the protection from the elements in the form of its retractable – and close-able – roof.
I’m taking advantage of a canceled appointment or two and some snow closings to share with you some photos I snapped a few moments ago, as well as to let you all know that my life balance/ work-life balance/ work family balance doesn’t consist only of work!
Looking to land that new job or brand your company? Get blogging.
That’s Debbie Weil’s advice. You’ll find her over at BlogWrite for CEOs She was quoted in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal in an article titled “How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job.”
Check out Gillian Hood-Gabrielson’s Fit for Business blog. Gillian features a Q & A with Sharon Williams, Chairperson of the Alliance for Virtual Businesses.
Ms. Williams supports what I’ve discussed with some of you when it comes to work-life balance:
“A benefit I haven’t covered is the ability to improve work/life balance. By hiring a VA, clients can systemize the business and automate its processes.
Work-life balance ranks high on our lists of deciding factors when looking for companies to work for.
What should you look for in a company when Work-Life Balance is at or near the top of your list?
Determine if work-life balance is supported by attitudes and corporate culture at all levels of the organization or is simply a Human Resources department directive.
Working Mother magazine has published its list of 100 Best Companies – The Family-Friendliest Companies in America. The list measured 7 areas of the companies’ work-life programs:
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.
Leslie Morgan Steiner’s Washingtonpost.com On Balance blog post of March 29Th asks the following:
“So what is balance, anyway? Do you have to have children in order to struggle with balance issues? How do you find your own balancing point in life? What makes you think you are balanced — and others are not — or vice versa? What happens when you tip over — how do you right yourself and your life?”
Good questions!
Some of you have noticed that I have posted a book on My Reading List on my Squidoo page Who is David B. Bohl? titled “I Don’t Want To Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression” by Terrence Real. When I say “noticed”, I mean you’ve wondered to me what that’s all about.
It is true – Dr. Real’s book is about men and depression. But it is so much more. I think the book jacket does a great job when it states: “I Don’t Want To Talk About It offers great wisdom, hope, and practical guidance to men and their families. This is one of the most important and straightforward books ever written about men.”
What I get most from Terrence Real’s book is a person who understands me. If you’ll indulge me for a moment, I’ll explain.
Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People and co-founder of the FranklinCovey Company, had this to say in his recent column Work-Life Balance: A Different Cut in Forbes.com: “The challenge of work-life balance is without question one of the most significant struggles faced by modern man. I’ve surveyed thousands of audiences about their greatest personal and professional challenges. Life balance is always at or near the top.”
