This question was submitted as part of the Limeade Summer Reading Club where the group is reading Bring Work to Life! and (virtually) discussing work-life. Here’s the detail:
How can I manage my work-life integration if I need to be available to my team/manager/customers 24/7?
This is a tough one and I receive this question quite frequently. Sometimes, the jobs with the most opportunity to work away from the office (think: sales, journalists, entrepreneurs, mid-level professionals) also have the highest expectations in terms of staying in touch. Either way, setting boundaries and ensuring you have a life outside of work can be a challenge. Here are a few questions I suggest that you consider:
Do you like what you do?
If you’re in the kind of job that requires a 24/7 level of commitment, be sure you like what you do. If you don’t[i], it will be that much tougher to devote the necessary energy to the task and you’ll spend untold emotional energy on staying committed to your work, and that will be exhausting.
How much?
Notice above that I said you should like (not love) what you do. Loving what you do is of course the ideal, but it’s also fair to be in a situation where you simply like what you do or you can see that experience in that job helps you build toward a long term goal or career step. We won’t always love what we do and it’s unrealistic to think we will, but what we do should be aligned to our long term goals. Sometimes we will need to make short term trade-offs for the long term.
Can you mix work and personal?
I’ve pointed out in a lot of places that technology is a bit of a double-edged sword. It’s good for the flexibility it gives us, but it can be less helpful in terms of putting us in an on-all-the-time life. A 24/7 job like yours is a perfect place to get the very most from technology. It allows you to be available constantly but for that to be invisible to your clients or customers. Use it to the maximum. Answer a quick email from the sidelines of your son’s soccer game. Respond to a quick text during intermission at the concert you’re attending. Give yourself permission to respond at these tiny moments, realizing that they’ll save you time in the long run and that you’ll demonstrate a valued level of responsiveness for those with whom you work.
But one caveat…
This is all well and good, but if you’re going to mix your work and personal, as I’ve just suggested, be sure you’re able to manage a mental boundary (and if you can’t, don’t mix). This means that you need to be able to quickly switch between work and personal without becoming mired in the work. If you’re frustrated by an email, be sure you don’t take it out on your son. Or if you’re annoyed by a text, don’t let it distract you from the concert. If you’re someone who can separate work and personal, then go ahead and mix it up. If you’re not, then keep a firm boundary from work to personal. Some people are able to make these separations and others aren’t. Be sure you know your own comfort with mixing work and personal.
Can you turn off?
The answer to this question is all about self-restraint and also about corporate culture. If you have an always-on-always-in-touch kind of job then it’s perhaps even more important to be able to totally disconnect sometimes. Your brain simply can’t be at its best and you can’t perform as well as you’d like if you never give yourself a break. So part of the responsibility is yours. Ensure you’re leading well enough to be able to delegate and go on a vacation where you don’t have to connect. Build strong relationships with team members who can fill in for you while you’re gone. In addition, work at the kind of company where you can disconnect sometimes. You’re being paid to bring value and the best of yourself to your work, but no company worth its salt would ask you to work constantly with no break – again because you can’t possibly be at your best without a break and can’t therefore do your best work. Establish open communication channels with your boss and your team members regarding when you’ll be available and when you’ll be off. Others will respect your ability to set boundaries.
Are you performing well?
And of course performing well is a pre-requisite for any work-life flexibility and boundary-setting. In the kind of job you have, performance is about being responsive and accountable. When your performance is stellar, your ability to set boundaries and say no is enhanced. People know you’re committed to work and committed to doing a good job. Ultimately, the way you demonstrate your commitment is through producing great results, not through working 24/7. So rethink the definition of 24/7 and be sure it’s really about making choices that allow you to mix work and life and also to disconnect as appropriate.
So in a nutshell, here are my suggestions:
- Like what you do (or at least know it’s an appropriate step on your path)
- Leverage technology to mix work and life so that you’re able to fully participate in both.
- Set boundaries for when you can completely turn off and disconnect.
- Perform brilliantly.
Best wishes on the journey!
[i] If you don’t you may have other, bigger questions to ask about making choices to seek an alternate role or career path.