Is it just me? Or is it sort of ridiculous (in a sad, telling, sort of way) that when the COO of a well-know technology company says she goes home everyday at 5:30 it is BIG NEWS?! I’m talking, of course, about Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s video on Makers and subsequent articles on CNN and Mashable.
The response touches on many issues close to your agents’ hearts… So we might as well join it.
Time in the office versus Productivity
I think almost everyone agrees that this is not a 1:1 relationship. (From experience, I can say that I am three times more productive working from home than I was in an office environment.) And how can people be their most productive when they are stressed by office hours that don’t work with their life?
Competition in the Workplace
Do you ever feel like your colleagues are trying to “outlast” you by staying late, even when it’s not necessary? In a past job, I had a co-worker that did just that. He’d look at his watch when others left saying “6:00… hmm…” Kidding or not, this isn’t healthy. Don’t buy into it (and if your boss does, start your job search).
Is having a family a stigma?
In some industries, I think it is. As Agent M said in her recent post about salary negotiation:
If you are applying for a job, try not to mention the mom-hood until the salary discussion is done.
… In fact, I might not mention parenthood until the deal is completely sealed.
The Work Life Balance myth
Today, in professional fields anyway, it is unrealistic to imagine you can put the phone and email away when you leave the office. Or that you are going to repress that great idea you had in the shower because you weren’t on the clock. “Work Life Balance” implies some sort of scale with a lump of work on one side and a lump of life on the other. I have found I am happiest when I think of it as a “Work Life Collage” — there are pieces of work and pieces of life that all fit together to make something beautiful and complete. Fighting to compartmentalize no longer works for me.
Is this attainable?
One of the things that worries me is that some folks might think they may need to “make it” to a high profile senior executive position before feeling comfortable working normal office hours… Like “Oh, it’s easy for HER to say, she’s a big-whig now who can do what she wants.” Remember, you have a choice. You define your success and you choose your path.
What do you think?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the enormous news that a C-level executive leaves the office at 5:30… and we’d encourage you to check out all of Sheryl Sandberg’s Makers videos if you need more inspiration.
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