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A time to work; a time to play
Work/life balance moves up list of employee priorities
"Does running late count as exercise?" This sticky-note message gives an ironic snapshot of the American workplace today. In a global, trimmed-to-the-bone, technology-embedded and ever-changing jobs environment, workers are struggling to find the balance between work and life.
"Being overwhelmed does not always mean overworked - but it can indicate an imbalance in some area of your life - and busy is not necessarily a bad thing. The question is, what are you busy doing?" said Jim Huling, CEO of MATRIX Resources Inc., an Atlanta-based IT services company.
Huling said that some people would describe his life as a CEO, husband, father, grandfather, author, nationally syndicated columnist, martial artist and certified whitewater rafting guide as overloaded. Huling sees it as balanced and purposeful, because he's doing so many things that bring him joy and living his vision each day.
That wasn't always the case. Many years ago, Huling was employed by a Big Eight accounting firm, working about 100 hours a week and traveling, which took him away from his wife and young daughter. Reading Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" in his hotel room one night, Huling said he had a "BFO" - a blinding flash of the obvious.
"I made a list of all the things I cared about, without which my life would have no meaning," he said. "There were eight other things on that list every bit as important to me as my work, yet I was investing everything in my job."
Following Covey's habit to "begin with the end in mind," Huling wrote eulogies of himself as a business leader, husband, father, friend and sportsman based on his values and what he wanted to accomplish in each role. "That gave me a clear vision of where I wanted to end up, and I've been working toward it ever since," he said.
Huling quit his traveling job and took another that allowed him to spend more time with his family. To become a father who had fun adventures with his children (now 33 and 21), he took camping, hiking and whitewater rafting trips over the years.
To keep his vision clear, Huling writes a three-year life plan annually and makes steps toward that plan with a weekly "investment planning" process. This year, he's planned an excursion on the middle fork of the Salmon River with both children - a big goal, but his one step to do this week is to order new duffle bags for everyone.
"I follow the 'drip method' advocated in the stock market: If I do a little each week, it adds up, and come June we'll all be on that river in Idaho," he said.
Huling's personal approach to work/life balance is to ask and then act on three questions: Who are you? What do you want? What are you prepared to do?
He's carried his personal values into his company by encouraging his employees to seek their own work/life balance. Last year, MATRIX Resources Inc. was named one of the 25 Best Small Companies to Work for in America by the Great Place to Work Institute.
He's seen the competition for companies to be "best places to work" sharpen as more young workers move into the workplace.
"They have a clear recognition that they are supposed to have a life and a job, and older workers are finding they like the idea, too," Huling said. "If you want to attract people with talent, passion and creativity, then you have to be the kind of place where those people want to work."
Great benefits (including health club membership), telecommuting, job sharing, mentoring (about 50 percent of employees participate) and training opportunities (including work/life balance methodology for employees and their spouses or partners) make the atmosphere at MATRIX flexible, productive and conducive to learning.
Twice a year, the company takes an anonymous survey of its employees to see how it is living up to its values and posts the results in the lobby of each office.
"I could not imagine posting my college report card outside my dorm door," he said with a laugh, "but if I had, I would have felt a lot different about my grades. We know we're living up to our values, because we can prove it. Our people say so.
"If an employee needs to leave work at 3 p.m. to see his child in a school play, we not only let him, we'll probably send flowers to the child."
He's learned that, when a company invests in its people and gives them the tools to help them balance their work and lives, there's a huge return in terms of retention, lower turnover, employee loyalty and productivity.
Earl L. Suttle, CEO of Three E Corp., an international consultant, motivational speaker and leadership trainer, makes a similar point when he says, "Happy employees make for happy customers and happy profits."
Suttle helps major corporations, NFL and NBA teams, and universities around the country develop their people, train their leaders and, as a result, improve their bottom lines.
"Enthusiasm is the No. 1 quality that will add value to a company, team or a person's life," Suttle said.
"A recent Gallup Poll study of many companies found that 55 percent of workers are not engaged and don't feel valued where they work," Suttle said. "Company leaders have to find the keys that motivate their people, and that means they have to ask questions and listen intently."
When you listen to someone, you're building trust, understanding and self-esteem of people in a family or a company, and that makes for a better, more productive environment for everyone, Suttle added.
He suggests that companies try "Stand-up Fridays," during which employees stand up and talk about the one exceptional thing they did for the company each week. This forum gives employees a chance to review their accomplishments and progress. "It also gives organizations the opportunity to hear and acknowledge individual stories," he said.
The exchange can lead to more creative and improved business practices.
While some companies do a better job than others of helping their employees
achieve a work/life balance, ultimately each individual has to take responsibility for his or her own life. That's the No. 1 pearl in "Earl's Pearls on Enjoying Excellence," a guide to helping people "develop attitudes, faith, skills, discipline, passion and perseverance to enhance their lives." Suttle co-wrote the book with physician and psychiatrist John Hubbard."People who find balance are working just as hard on themselves as their jobs, maybe harder," Suttle said.
When he exercises and eats right to manage his diabetes and when he uses his driving time to listen to books and inspirational messages - a practice he refers to as his "university on wheels" - he feels better and brings more enthusiasm and creativity to his work and his family.
"When I speak to corporate audiences, I tell people that their personal growth and enjoyment of life have a lot to do with the growth of their company," Suttle said. Conversely, making good career choices can enhance your chances of achieving a work/life balance.
"People often take a job based on great pay or title, only to wonder what else is out there a month later. More turnover is attributable to disillusionment than lack of opportunity and income," Huling said. "Choose a job because you are passionate about using your talents and skills, and then join an organization you can believe in, one where you're proud to work."
That way, at the end of the day, when you ask yourself if you did what you wanted to do, Huling noted, you can answer "yes."
