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A so called balance
A so called balance
May 05, 2009
At last year’s Future of Web Apps conference I sat through a fantastic business debate between Jason Calacanis (Mahalo and Weblogs fame) and Tim Nixon (Nixon McInnes). The debate was structured around the prickly subject of work/life balance. Jason compared work to the Tour de France or the Olympics; Tom was a little more relaxed telling the audience he lets his staff pull a four day week. While I enjoyed the debate, it got me thinking about the work/life balance. To be honest I think that they are both wrong -- in business we can do much better.
This may be a little controversial, but frankly the term work/life balance makes no sense. It’s a phrase penned between traditional business trying to justify reasons to call its staff at the weekend, and staff determined to make sure they do just what they need to and not a cent more. I subscribe to neither.
For me, and anyone with half a brain in this economy, “work” is part of “life”, not a separate entity that needs a special category, otherwise what’s the point? Do you have a social/life balance or a sleep/life balance? Why is work so special? Sure it takes up a load of your week but that just proves the point even more. If you want to be a success and your work sucks, I bet your life does as well.
Within my role I am responsible for a pretty big team of people across four countries. Most of the team work at home, some in the office. I like to believe we have a great understanding of one another. The team is awesome -- when something needs doing I can guarantee someone will step up and pull that extra shift to get it done. The flip side is that when someone needs a few hours out, it’s not a problem. To quote Jason Calacanis we “bust ass”, but I would like to think we do it together. I don’t bust them -- there is give and take, but it’s not a “balance”.
Personally I feel there is no need for me to keep my work life and my home life separate. Most nights I sit, MacBook on lap, either working, chatting to friends or scheming about the ‘next big thing’. I don’t differentiate between work and home. Sure I unplug and there is always personal time with the family, but having spent the last few years being connected twenty four hours a day I really have no problem about the blurry boundaries.
So, you can keep your so called “balance” -- I want to be a success for both myself and my employer. After all it’s what I spend most of the week doing, why wouldn’t I want to be good at it?
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Comments
I expect you have all read Seven Day Weekend (By Ricardo Semler). But just in case I think the title says it all.
@ Nigel Dean
I work on the principle
if you wake up 5 mornings in a row wishing you did not have to go to work then you need to change your job.
Just a quick follow up/reply to Rich Brady above.
After your reply I thought you had miss-understood what I had said, but it was actually that my poiint was badly written. Just to clarify my point of view; I don't suggest that people try and improve their social life because their job is crap. If your crap job is making the rest of your life crap - you need to get out of that job, even though I accept it is often hard to do.
So we do actually agree Rich and I still think you are a very lucky guy!
@Tom
Maybe it can be seen that way and to an extent maybe i am. All things said and done my staff all know were they stand with me. They know when im p****d with them and i rarely have to tell them i am.
Some people dont believe me when i tell them i brought a new football for work. I allow the guys to play in the warehouse, i also join in. We have a laugh and over the years i have also noticed and improvement in productivity. It seems that being energetic makes you more motivated.
As for work life balance i had a general discussion with some here. Common views are they really enjoy working here but its interesting to note some are happy to work longer not because they enjoy it but because of home life.
I asked them about work life balance and they dont see a balance just a split, work/life. The funny thing is its not uncommon for some to come in the next day with an idea or the need to do something as they were thinking about it the night before. Does this mean you take your work home? They dont see a balance, they see work as a seperate to home life but if your thinking about work at home then surely its not a definative split. I have worked with people in the past who have a definate split, they walked out the door and that was it until 7:30 the next morning.
I certainly dont seperate it, with remote logins and server management its a bit hard not to, work merges into home life however its how you manage this side of things that is the most important. Making time for people that are important to you is the key to any work and home life balance/split/arrangement
thanks for the early morning reads :)
Thanks for the comments everyone, some very interesting reading here. :)
Hey Tom,
Thanks for taking the time out to reply, a great FOWA debate, hoping for more of the same next time around. ;)
Hi Benjamin
I like your thinking! I agree that if you focus on doing more of what you enjoy, then work isn't really work in the traditional sense and so doesn't have to be balanced with 'life'. I'm not a big fan of the term 'work/life balance' either - it's one of those things that sounds well meaning but dated, like 'corporate social responsibility.' But even with a life where you focus on doing what you enjoy, balance is still important - having enough time for family, exercise, career and all of your other interests. Even if you love your job, if you never see your kids then perhaps that's not a good balance.
@Darren - you sound like a really fair boss, but maybe a tiny bit paternalistic. Your language is around ASKING people to work extra hours and in return you MANAGE any needs they have outside of work. For me, the optimum is to have a culture where everyone takes responsibility for themselves - takes a bit of slack where they need to or can afford to, and goes the extra mile without being asked. That's why we have no fixed working hours, and focus on results rather than hours.
Thanks for keeping the debate alive, it's an important one :)
T.
Interesting but i guess some people need to break things into logical order.
I sit on more than one fence, i run my own business and work for someone else. That said and done i operate some basic rules myself and use these with the team that work for me.
I expect my pound of flesh and there is not a job here that i wont do myself, this puts me at a distinct advantage to many employers. I have never had a member of staff refuse to do a single job and i believe this is because of this.
However the "work/life" balance is suited to people that require complete control, i am no pyshcologist but to me these learns towards a form of insecurity. From a business point of view, my staffs hours are set, if i require them to work extra hours i simply ask. It is very rare for any of them to come up with a reason not to.
Why are they good for me, because when they have and issue outside of work, we manage it. They go and sort out what needs sorting but they also understand that at sometime i will call on them to assist me.
All my staff are reminded to take their holidays, i have some that tell me they dont need them. I work longer hours than them but my home life is important to me, probably more these days than before, but i keep telling my staff that theirs is important and they have to make time for it.
We all get caught up in work from time to time, is there a balance? I guess this depends on how you look at it, we all balance our priorities so YES would be the answer. Would i pigeon hole my days/hours/minutes then NO
Interesting blogg though
I have to disagree Ben whilst I agree with most of what you're saying, I do subscribe to the theory of getting the work/life balance right. To me it does exist and makes perfect sense.
However, I'd suggest it's based on happiness or satisfaction at home and at work, not on time keeping, slogging your guts out or shutting down at 5pm.
The balance is different in everyone, it depends on what stage of thier career they are at and what personal demands they might have on their time at home or with the family. And invariably, this changes over time, like any basic life cycle.
The work/life balance is flexible but exists. You've probably only got it right when you look forward to going to work and look forward to going home.
Work is part of my life and certainly not limited to just the 8 hours I spend in the office but most people I know do not treat their work in the same way. I guess it depends on the combination of the employer, the person and the job.
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