All work and no play makes for an unhappy and unhealthy life. Plus, if I worked all of the time and didn’t have much of an outside life, I think I would begin to define my life through my work and I think that is a slippery slope. For instance, if I defined my life through my work, and I were to lose that job, I would be absolutely devistated.

Great article Mike!

Great article. This balance is something that should be taught in school, isn’t it? Instead, we are conditioned that ‘High Grades = High Paying Job = Happiness’.

I suspect the majority of us replying to this article have ‘done our time’ and now realize that success is not defined just by our jobs. I wonder, though, if we would be where we are if we hadn’t learned that lesson first hand.

Today, I think it is difficult to convince many young professionals on the street to work less hours. Even if they are as effective as their peers while putting in less hours, unfortunately, there are a lot of managers out there who reward ‘hard’ workers just as much, if not more than the ‘effective workers’. We need more managers like you, Mike! Many other managers are too focused on the short term wins (at all costs) vs the long term sustainability and effectiveness of their group.

With the economy slowing, I wonder if this problem will only get worse as competition for remaining jobs heats up. I hope managers see that the effective workers with good home/work balance are the best ones to have around.

Arden.

Lance, yes I find it odd that so many people argue that they can balance their lives later and work less once they get ahead. But never actually do. I’ve learned this young and I’m thankful, as many people I know ask me how I keep a smart balance and I know that it’s because its a habit now and I don’t shift from it for long periods of time. It’s automatic if you develop it well.

Thanks Dicki for commenting as well and welcome! It’s too bad so many people need to get to that point of frustration before realizing what they have let happen.

Ian, thanks for your insight. While I do like the idea of separating my work form myself, I do still hope that my work is something that ‘I’ truly love so don’t care if it is separated or not. I think the value though is in separating it for the sake of other friends and family. I know that if I keep my work at work, I can have much more meaningful discussions and free time with friends and family so that is certainly valuable. Too many people bring their work baggage home and force everyone to experience all they have to complain about. Joining those areas I hope is positive and useful in your “whole” life as you mention. If that is the case, I think you have balanced things very well!

G. Thanks for the comments and compliment. Finding that balance is a great way to be more pleased with your work and to put the meaningful things back in your life with some priority as well.

Great article and interesting comments.

In the work I do with groups of business people (usually at senior management level) I often hear ‘work/life’ balance as one of the biggest challenges at all levels. I also hear some of those involved in recruitment complaining about how difficult the new generation (early 20′s) are .. usually much more demanding and much less interested in career at the cost of everything else.

Personally I take this is as a hugely positive sign! We’re starting to wake up to the fact that maybe the problem is not one of getting balance between work and life .. but one of the separation of the two in the first place. As I see it the work-life split is relatively recent .. many businesses continue to operate with structures and cultures that are not huge steps away from those of the industrialisation era (which were not big steps away from serfdom and slavery). The words ‘boss’ and ‘superior’ say much about why it might be hard to have a conversation with them about working hours!

The answer I found for myself is to see my life as a whole .. work is part of it, not separate from it, and for some of that work people are willing to pay me. I’m both self-employed and partner in an organisation that’s building business for the future based on very different ways of thinking and acting. No bosses. No working hours. Balance is very much about personal choice. I know that I’m both very, very lucky … and that I’ve made part of that luck by the choices I make.

Ian