{"id":2587,"date":"2016-05-12T10:00:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T17:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/?p=2587"},"modified":"2016-04-28T12:27:35","modified_gmt":"2016-04-28T19:27:35","slug":"work-life-balance-is-now-a-cliche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/?p=2587","title":{"rendered":"Work\u2013life balance is now a clich\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave’s Note: \u00a0Our special guest author this week is Kelly Graham from Decision Toolbox, Inc. \u00a0You’ll enjoy her take on one of the basic issues of our business-personal lives…<\/em><\/p>\n

By Kelly Graham<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finding work\u2013life balance is one of the most abused clich\u00e9s in business today. Why? Because there is no such thing as work\u2013life balance in corporate America today. Conventional corporate structures don\u2019t allow for balance, just the illusion of working towards it.<\/p>\n

Work\u2013Life Balance is dead<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look at the structure of conventional corporate America. Employees must wake up in time \"Work-Life-Balance<\/a>to get whatever household chores need to be done before heading off on their commute to the office. Depending on where that employee lives, the commute could take anywhere from minutes to a couple hours.<\/p>\n

Everyone is rushing to make it to the office by the set start time, when everyone is expected to be at their desks to comply with the “butt in chair” office policy. Work, work, work until lunchtime, when the lucky employees are allowed to take a lunch break, though in many environments, it’s an unspoken rule that truly dedicated team members eat at their desks while continuing to work. Work some more, until the designated “quitting time,” which again, may be influenced by the unspoken rule that only slackers leave right at 5 pm. The dedicated team members stay long past that. Again with the commute home, just in time to figure out dinner, get the kids settled in for the night, have an hour to do whatever needs doing, then it’s lights out and start the whole process again tomorrow. Where is the balance?<\/p>\n

It’s Not About Logistics<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Email readers, continue here…]<\/em><\/span> \u00a0Some might argue that because Kim\u2019s company is a 100% virtual company, where all team members work from home offices, it’s all too easy for us to be simplistic about the concept of work\u2013life balance. While it’s true that working from home allows us to throw in a load of laundry while on a conference call, or squeeze in a workout on our lunch break, the truth is that working from home requires discipline. When the office is ten steps away at all times, we can, and do, end up working at all hours. The difference is…it’s our choice to work\u00a0when it works for us<\/em>, not when the clock tells us we’re supposed to be working.<\/p>\n

Being virtual is a logistics benefit for sure, but more importantly, work\u2013life balance is also a\u00a0cultural mindset<\/strong>. We are not just able, but encouraged, to take ownership of our jobs. As long as the work is getting done, nobody should be looking over your shoulder to see when you’re doing it.<\/p>\n

Why it Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re looking for a way to turn your clock punchers into highly engaged employees, take a look at your culture. Does it really encourage work\u2013life balance? Or is it lip service? Employees are highly engaged when their personal and professional values complement and support one another.<\/p>\n

This is especially important for Gen Y, who value flexibility in their lives. We should take a lesson from them. They watched their parents struggle on the teeter\u2013totter and learned that it doesn’t work. Instead, they expect a holistic approach to work and life. This includes work schedules, telecommuting, home\u2013office arrangements, and dress code.<\/p>\n

“A” leaders won’t get “A” players just by offering the highest pay, the shortest commute or the coolest water cooler. Instead, they’ll attract them by allowing employees the space to incorporate their personal and professional lives into one cohesive, meaning\u2013driven life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dave’s Note: \u00a0Our special guest author this week is Kelly Graham from Decision Toolbox, Inc. \u00a0You’ll enjoy her take on one of the basic issues of our business-personal lives… By Kelly Graham Finding work\u2013life balance is one of the most … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-surrounding-yourself-with-talent"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkonomics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}