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Abstract

eated a nasty side effect; the “always-on, 24/7/365” work environment. Far too many corporate managers and even coworkers expect that a corporate lifestyle comes with the ability to always reach out to fellow employees whenever and wherever they feel the need to reach out. Through verbal and written communication, these same people go out of their way to make sure everyone knows their expectations about being “always-on.”Well, here and now, I’m calling it out for what it is; at best, it’s a form of 21st-century narcissism; at worst, it’s a form of corporate bullying. Managers and co-workers who expect their people to pick up the phone anytime they call, day or night, are utterly disrespectful of their subordinates or co-workers.If the practice is so inherently disrespectful and dysfunctional, why does it still go on in a large majority of corporations? Because the western-style corporate cultures of most companies either passively or even actively encourage it. Companies will give out all sorts of awards to those people who are willing to work ‘on-demand’; we even celebrate them in our corporate newsletters. Managers of all stripes will write performance reviews based on an individual’s willingness to go ‘far above and beyond the work needed to get the job done (read that the more overtime hours you are willing to give us, the greater your reward.) Some managers I have worked for have even made veiled threats of termination if you are not willing to be always on.So until recently, most front-line employees have been willing to endure such abuse and fear that their careers would stall if they didn’t buy into the always-on mantra.So, here is where I want to inject one of my secret

Options

s that more and more people are finding out about: You don’t have to conform to the always-on culture.You can set real work-life boundaries.You won’t lose your job. Not in today’s environment.You might not get that next pay hike, and you might not get the next promotion. But really, who cares?Indeed, who does care?If you answer this question by thinking, “What do you mean, Dave? Of course, I care! Promotions are great, and so is some extra pay.”Hmmm. Suppose that is the first thought that comes to your mind when you read this. In that case, it might be time for a ‘gut-check.’ You’re right — promotions and bonuses are great, but not at the expense of sacrificing relationships, especially those special relationships with your spouse, children, and extended family.By the way, you can still command those promotions and bonuses without extra overtime. How do I know — because I’ve been there, done that. My secret is not such a secret; it’s all about not taking on more work than you can reasonably handle, negotiating or delegating it down to a reasonable workload if you are already overloaded, and prioritizing the real important work.It also helps to do a bit of ‘humble-bragging.’ I have often been rewarded because of positive customer feedback. These rewards have always come unexpectedly, but the rewards came because of the value I brought to my customer.If you are in the career game for the long haul, you MUST set healthy boundaries around your work life to prevent career burnout.“I wished I would have had more time to work” — said no one ever on their death bed.</article></body>

Boundaries: Important for a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Building fences is hard work but maintaining them can be even harder

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

I was enjoying a late morning coffee when my cell phone buzzed unexpectedly.

“Who in the world could be calling me on Saturday?” I wondered aloud.

I checked the number on the phone, and it was one of my coworkers calling from the United States.

“That’s rather odd. It’s 10 PM where he’s at.” I thought. “Why on earth would he call me at 10 PM? He has no boundaries.”

I didn’t answer the phone. Eventually, it stopped ringing.

I suspected he was calling about a work-related issue, and I knew I had done the right thing by not taking his call when he called again on Monday morning to discuss this issue. I had stuck to my guns and maintained my work/life boundaries. He did not care about boundaries and thought calling me on the weekend for a non-essential deadline was perfectly acceptable.

So the way to handle such blatant disregard for work/life boundaries? In this case, it was simple. I refused to give in and I let that cell phone keep on ringing.

This call is but one example of something that happens far too often in modern corporate life. The advent of the internet and virtually free worldwide internet calls have created a nasty side effect; the “always-on, 24/7/365” work environment. Far too many corporate managers and even coworkers expect that a corporate lifestyle comes with the ability to always reach out to fellow employees whenever and wherever they feel the need to reach out. Through verbal and written communication, these same people go out of their way to make sure everyone knows their expectations about being “always-on.”

Well, here and now, I’m calling it out for what it is; at best, it’s a form of 21st-century narcissism; at worst, it’s a form of corporate bullying. Managers and co-workers who expect their people to pick up the phone anytime they call, day or night, are utterly disrespectful of their subordinates or co-workers.

If the practice is so inherently disrespectful and dysfunctional, why does it still go on in a large majority of corporations? Because the western-style corporate cultures of most companies either passively or even actively encourage it. Companies will give out all sorts of awards to those people who are willing to work ‘on-demand’; we even celebrate them in our corporate newsletters. Managers of all stripes will write performance reviews based on an individual’s willingness to go ‘far above and beyond the work needed to get the job done (read that the more overtime hours you are willing to give us, the greater your reward.) Some managers I have worked for have even made veiled threats of termination if you are not willing to be always on.

So until recently, most front-line employees have been willing to endure such abuse and fear that their careers would stall if they didn’t buy into the always-on mantra.

So, here is where I want to inject one of my secrets that more and more people are finding out about: You don’t have to conform to the always-on culture.

You can set real work-life boundaries.

You won’t lose your job. Not in today’s environment.

You might not get that next pay hike, and you might not get the next promotion. But really, who cares?

Indeed, who does care?

If you answer this question by thinking, “What do you mean, Dave? Of course, I care! Promotions are great, and so is some extra pay.”

Hmmm. Suppose that is the first thought that comes to your mind when you read this. In that case, it might be time for a ‘gut-check.’ You’re right — promotions and bonuses are great, but not at the expense of sacrificing relationships, especially those special relationships with your spouse, children, and extended family.

By the way, you can still command those promotions and bonuses without extra overtime. How do I know — because I’ve been there, done that. My secret is not such a secret; it’s all about not taking on more work than you can reasonably handle, negotiating or delegating it down to a reasonable workload if you are already overloaded, and prioritizing the real important work.

It also helps to do a bit of ‘humble-bragging.’ I have often been rewarded because of positive customer feedback. These rewards have always come unexpectedly, but the rewards came because of the value I brought to my customer.

If you are in the career game for the long haul, you MUST set healthy boundaries around your work life to prevent career burnout.

“I wished I would have had more time to work” — said no one ever on their death bed.