It’s Motivation Monday! How many of you are excited to start a new week at work? Or, if you are really honest with yourself, do you typically begin dreading Monday morning well before it arrives? If this sounds familiar, the root cause of your distress could be related to a lack of work life balance.

 

After all, a recent study found that 66% of full-time employees in America do not have work life balance! Are you surprised?

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What is the biggest sacrifice that you have made? Would you choose a different path today based upon the lessons that you have learned?

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Friends, I have been there. For twenty years, I typically worked 60-70 hours per week to serve my customers with excellence, advance my career and provide for my family. My biggest sacrifice, for which I have deep regret, happened when my son was an infant. When he was 2 days old, Grayson was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a condition that can cause problems with normal brain and skull growth. Nevertheless, when my leave was over, I returned to work to start a new job leading a global PMO within the same company. Grayson was only 10 weeks old! A few weeks later, he had major surgery to remove several inches of his skull at Medical City in Dallas. This surgery was incredibly serious and required him to remain in the hospital for nearly a week.

 

So, my husband and I stayed in a hotel near the hospital so that we could be near our baby boy Grayson.

You know what I regret the most? Because I was in a new job and there were time sensitive deliverables required, I actually worked from the hotel room for most of that week instead of being in the hospital room with my son and husband. I told myself that I had no choice. Despite the pressure to deliver, the choice to work was mine…and I was wrong! If I could go back and do that all over again, I would choose my family first.

If you are a parent or a caregiver, the pandemic and remote working may have created new work life balance challenges for you.

 

For example, have you replaced your commute time with additional working hours? Do you find it difficult to disconnect from work so that you can focus on your family? Many people are so fearful of being affected by corporate downsizing that they may be working two more hours or more a day (according to a 2021 survey).

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As leaders, it is our responsibility to set the example for our people. If they see us making good work life balance choices, they will know that they have permission to do so as well.

 

At The COMO Group, we are creating a one-of-a-kind company culture that is focused on our People. Here are three things that we do to enable work life balance for ourselves and our team members.

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1. Set Boundaries – define your working hours and communicate them with your team. Update your calendar to reflect your availability and share your calendar with the team for transparency.

2. Respect Boundaries – be intentional about respecting the work schedule boundaries of your team. Unless there is an emergency, do not interrupt their personal time.

3. Deliver on your commitments – In today’s digital world, work can happen virtually any time and anywhere. If you consistently deliver on your commitments, your customers and team members will have peace of mind, knowing that they can count on you!

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Everyone deserves to have a meaningful career AND a healthy personal life. Imagine what our world could look like if we made work life balance a priority. Such Transformation is possible, and it starts one person at a time. It’s Motivation Monday, what are you waiting for?

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Resources

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The COMO Factor Podcast

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Check out Season 2 of The COMO Factor podcast Episode 5 "From Entry to Entrepreneurship". COMO Directors Kimberly Chamiok and Jacob Guidry provide insight into a variety of millennial workplace perspectives. In particular, Kimberly shares a few examples of work life balance challenges. You will be shocked at her remote working nightmare which happened while still in the hospital after giving birth to her first child!

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The F Place book

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If you would like to learn more about Personal and Professional Transformation, check out our fictional Business Thriller novel The F Place. Several characters in this book faced work life balance challenges and handled them in unique and inspiring ways.

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My co-author Sonal Trivedi and I use the art of storytelling to help seasoned executives and aspiring leaders to experience wholistic personal and professional Transformation. Not only will you be entertained by the characters, the corporate political warfare, and scandals, you will walk away with lessons that you can apply to your own Transformation journey.

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Please visit thefplace.com to purchase the book and merchandise directly. The F Place book is also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold. 

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