My so-Called Life: How You Can Maintain the Right Work/Life Balance in 2005

It has almost become a clich to discuss work/life balance. People start saying things like,”no one ever wrote on their headstone that they wished they spent more time at work.” Yet, it continues to be a struggle for most professionals.When is it OK to turn offyour cell phone? Can you ever really be unavailable to a client or your boss?

According to a June 2004 Monster.com poll, more than 80 percent of the respondents indicated that they are not happy with the balance they have struck between their work and personal lives.

“Many workers don’t take vacations without their laptops, cell phones or Blackberry devices,” laments Lee Ann Bratten, communications director for Sonic Corp. in Oklahoma City, OkIa. “Vacations are meant to be a time to forget about work and the stress that goes with it. Now, folks get stressed because they can’t get the high-speed Internet access in their hotel rooms to work.”

The struggle for work/life balance

How many times have you sat in your office and wondered how you’d fit everything into a hectic work schedule – from your kid’s soccer game to a workout at the gym?The bottom line: It isn’t how life fits into your work schedule but rather how work fits into your life.

It used to be that newer professionals paid their dues by working long hours. Now it seems people sacrifice far beyond the first few years.

“We respect employees who come to work every day and get the job done,” says Aubrey Scott, personnel director at GM s Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City.”But most employers care more about the quality of work than the amount of face time.

“Eight to nine hours a day is enough if you’re meeting deadlines and turning out a quality product; 12 hours doesn’t mean anything if there s nothing to show for it,” she says.

Most practitioners hope to be successful and highly regarded by peers industrywide. However, that success does not have to come at the expense of activities that we enjoy. In fact, the company and our colleagues are better served when we maintain a proper work/ life balance. People work more effectively and efficiently when participating in activities outside of work.These activities bring a breadth of new experiences and ideas to the table.We’re also more relaxed and able to focus.

Monster.com career coach Barbara Reinhold says,”Good judgment in complex situations requires the following: going to work rested; having people to whom you can confess and unload negative feelings; taking care of yourself physically; and having downtime to replenish your creativity and clear your perspective.”

Says Bratten,”You can’t lose sight of what is really important in the grand scheme of things – your sanity. Quality time with family and friends should always take priority over work.”

Defining the balance

Work/life balance does not mean an equal balance.Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that.

According to Jim Bird, president of WorkBalance.com, your individual work/life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis.The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow.The right balance for you when you are single will be different if you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement.

“Significant life changes give you an opportunity to see the world in a new light,” says Mary Henige, APR, communications director of GMs Pontiac-GMC Division.”Getting married, becoming a parent, etc. offer new insights and change your perception as a consumer, and, consequently, make you a better counselor.”

There is no perfect, one-size-fits-all solution that you should be striving for. The best work/life balance is different for each of us because we all have different priorities and different lives.

However, at the core of an effective work/life balance are two key everyday concepts that are relevant to each of us. They are daily achievement and enjoyment, ideas almost deceptive in their simplicity, Bird says.Trying to live a one-sided life is why so many successful people are not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.

And keep in mind the following points: The world will not end if you push back a deadline; everything on your list will still be there tomorrow; and it’s only work.

What is to blame?

Technology

As we advance further into the information age, technology is our blessing and our curse. It’s a great way to send quick messages, contact someone in an emergency or snap a photo during a client event.The downside? Our home life is more and more like the office. Cell phones and BlackBerry devices are turned on around-the-clock.

Erin Brownfield of the Work Family Institute, cites technology as an issue that impacts people’s sense of work/life balance – often for the worse. More and more people can do their jobs without being at their jobs.”A lot of people seem to be using technology for their job during nonwork hours,” says Brownfield. “Those people are more likely to feel overworked.”

Society/Leadership

There have also been changes in society. We re working harder with fewer resources, due to outsourcing and downsizing. As a whole, we are almost neurotic about deadlines,”being the best,” keeping lists, etc. How many people have a PDA, computer calendar, desktop calendar and another calendar hanging on the wall?

Maggie Jackson, author of “What’s Happening to Home !Balancing Work, Life, and Refuge in the Information Age,” says,”With unemployment as high as it is, it may be tougher these days to tell your boss to take a hike if she tracks you down on the cell while you’re coaching Little League or heading a Girl Scouts troop.Yet, after Sept. 11, many people have felt the desire to step back and examine their lives.”

The individual

Despite advances in technology and changes in society, much of the responsibility lies with you. It is important to set boundaries, and no one can do that better for you than you can. Accept that you can’t finish everything and pick the top few items that must be done. Even if you think everything is important, it’s not.

“You have to make choices ,”says Henige.”The PR field can be all- consuming.”

Suggestions for maintaining work/life balance

* Get physical (exercise, play a sport).

* Prioritize your time.

* Keep a daily to-do list. Don’t worry about getting everything done, let it ease your mind that nothing will be forgotten.

* Root out time-wasters (e.g., do you need to read the paper front to back or can you scan the headlines, reading only articles that are relevant?).

* Prepare for the day the night before.

* Do several things at once (example: when put on hold, use the time to read a memo).

* Delegate.

* Head inside: meditate, pray, etc.

* Fight the urge to be perfect.

J-B.

Jennifer P. Brown is is a communications coordinator for General Motors Corp. at the Kansas City assembly facility. She is chair of the PRSA New Professionals Affinity Group and is responsible for the group’s strategic direction.

Copyright Public Relations Society of America, Incorporated Jan 2005