Archive for the ‘Work-Life Balance’ Category

Recently Lisa Gates, a Twitter friend of mine, and I jumped on the phone and talked about life, business, and the whole notion of workplace flexibility. Lisa is a life balance specialist and coach with Craving Balance and I just love her positivity and perspective on all things related to work-life balance. I asked Lisa to share her thoughts on regaining balance and today she brings you 10 questions you can ask yourself to get your life back on track. Enjoy!

You know you’re out of balance when…

1. Your mail sits unopened for a week and you pay your bills late.
2. You think that the more plates you can spin, the more you can have it all.
3. You keep declining invitations with friends.
4. You can’t remember the last time you talked with your brother.
5. You forget appointments and blow off commitments (like working out, eating healthy).
6. You stop writing your task lists for the week and fly by the seat of your pants.
7. You haven’t synced your iPhone in weeks.
8. You don’t care if you’re not on track with your plan.
9. You can’t remember what’s in your plan.
10. You don’t answer your phone or you’re always on the phone.

Isn’t “having it all” a hamster-wheel myth borne of fear? Why not stop the bloodletting and take a look. Making quality-of-life shifts is much more sustainable when the solutions come authentically and naturally from within. We achieve that by asking questions, making inquiries, and recommitting ourselves to actions that are connected to our values.

To get yourself back on track, it’s helpful to ask yourself some powerful questions now and then. These 10 questions will bring resonance to your choices and heart to your actions:

1. What is it to be completely fulfilled in life?
2. What values, qualities of being must be present for you to have a fulfilled life?
3. How would honoring those values impact your experience of work-life balance?
4. What are you committed to? (Not goals… goals are the doings that happen inside the field of commitments.)
5. What actions give you the least joy?
6. If you were committed to an organized, energetic, juicy, fulfilling experience in your work and life, how would that change your perspective about #5?
7. What two or three actions could you take right now that would create the most impact on your wellbeing?
8. What three things do you do in your daily life have absolutely no relevance to work or life fulfillment?
9. What are you willing to give up?
10. When will you commit to answering all these questions?

No, really: When will you commit to answering all these questions?

About the Author

Lisa Gates is a life balance specialist and coach with Craving Balance. She is passionate about helping women set goals from the inside out, design personalized balance roadmaps, and bring rigorous and soulful accountability to their personal and professional lives. Through their unique Set Your Own Rate and Donate program, all women have access to coaching, while making a contribution to organizations that benefit women’s leadership and women’s equality.

Today, June 26th, is Take Your Dog to Work Day! This event, which occurs annually the first Friday after Father’s Day, is your opportunity to bring your favorite K9 into the office with you. Since I work from home, I’m lucky every day is Take Your Dog to Work Day. Here are a few pictures of my Westie, Oliver, “helping out” around the office.

Oliver Waking from a Nap in the Curtains & Supervising from the Couch

Nearly 1 in 5 Companies Allow Pets in the Workplace

According to research posted on TakeYourDogToWorkDay.com, nearly one in five companies allow pets in the workplace. Generally speaking, Americans have very positive opinions about pets in the workplace. According to a 2006 American Pet Products Association survey:

• 55 million Americans believe having pets in the workplace leads to a more creative environment.
• 53 million believe having pets in the workplace decreases absenteeism.
• 50 million believe having pets in the workplace helps co-workers get along better.
• 38 million believe having pets in the workplace creates a more productive environment.
• 46 million people who bring their pets to the workplace work longer hours.

Interesting, isn’t it? How many times have you considered implementing a pet policy within your organization to increase creativity, team work, productivity, and decrease absenteeism? I’m guessing rarely, if ever.

Should you take the leap, here are a few tips for making Dog Day a success in your organization:

• Dogs should be kept on a leash, unless in the employee’s office or cubicle.
• Employees should use a baby gate to prevent dogs from leaving their office unsupervised.
• Specific areas, such as bathrooms or employee dining halls, can be designated as dog-free.
• Have a backup plan for taking the dog home if he is not comfortable in the work environment.

Enter to Win

If you are a dog friendly organization, FetchDog wants to know! You can enter their “Top 10 Dog Friendly Companies” competition by sending an email with your company name, address, and URL to dogsatwork at fetchdog dot com. All entries receive an official “Dog Friendly Work Place” banner to include on their company’s website. For more tips and information, visit www.takeyourdog.com/get_involved or you can find them on Twitter @takeyourdog.

What do you think? Are having pets in the workplace a good idea? Have you ever worked for a company that allowed you to bring your dog to work?

Wondering if a flexible work arrangement is right for you? Whether you’re interested in flexible hours, telecommuting, working from a satellite office, coworking, or participating in a ROWE, flexible work isn’t a good fit for everyone.

Here are 10 characteristics you must have—or develop—to thrive in a flexible work environment:

1. Strong Work Ethic

Flexible work is all about the results. Do you have a strong enough work ethic to consistently produce results without the structure and stability of a job in a traditional work environment?

2. Knows It’s NOT About Sleeping In & Wearing Your PJs All Day

You may want to telecommute or work from home so you can sleep in and wear your pajamas all day. Truthfully, there are days I do this, but it’s not the norm. If your primary reason for wanting flexible work is to work in your pajamas, see items number one and three.

3. Disciplined

Working flexible hours isn’t necessarily about working less—it’s about working differently. You still have a job to do, clients to please, team members to support and everything must be done in a timely manner. The self-discipline to get up, get to work, and get your job done is essential.

4. Self-Motivated

If you need your coworkers or your boss to constantly motivate you, flexible work may not be right for you. Self-motivated individuals thrive in a hands-off work environment and are motivated by freedom of choice. Complete control to decide how, when, and where you work should be motivation enough.

5. Proactive

Successful flex workers are proactive. They don’t procrastinate and put off doing their work. They accomplish their work quickly and efficiently so they can benefit from control over their time. When a problem comes up, telecommuters or virtual team members do whatever they can to resolve it immediately. They know problems will quickly get worse in an unstructured environment.

6. Flexible

Yes, flexible work requires being flexible. Brilliant, I know. But if you receive flexibility from your employer, you should be willing to be flexible with them as well. It goes two ways—you do what you need to do to make the arrangement a success for both parties.

7. Willing to Learn

Changing your work environment from a traditional office to a virtual or remote office may require some learning on your part. Learn new technologies, techniques, and skills quickly and be willing to teach your team and colleagues what works.

8. Willing to Change

More and more people are telecommuting and moving into flexible work arrangements and virtual teams. The workplace is changing and flexible workers are willing and able to quickly adapt and change. They welcome new ideas, technologies, and innovative ways to collaborate. They are quick to leave the old, limiting beliefs of the traditional workplace behind and replace those beliefs with a new flexible alternative.

9. Focused

Speaking from experience, it’s easy to get distracted at home—especially when you don’t have set office hours. I may take a break for lunch, realize we don’t have enough milk for my afternoon coffee, head to the grocery store, and by the time I get back I’ve lost the whole afternoon. Flexible workers that do well are focused every day on the results they must produce as well as project timelines and deadlines. They actively work to make things happen by putting on blinders and avoiding outside distractions.

10. Organized

You must be organized when you work flexibly. Do you have access to all the files, information, and contacts you need to do your job? Can you collaborate with team members and clients effortlessly? Do you have a dedicated office space that isn’t part of the kid’s playroom? Take the time you need to set up an organized space for you work and make sure you have easy access to all the tools and information you need to do your job.

This list is just a few of the characteristics you need to excel in a flexible work environment. What other traits or characteristics do you possess that have made you a successful flexible worker?

In organizational development and certain psychology and HR circles, they talk about job embeddedness. It’s an odd sounding term that simply refers to how attached an employee is to their job. The more embedded an employee is, the less likely they are to leave their job and the organization.

There are three main parts to job embeddedness:

• Fit – Job fit refers to whether or not an employee’s knowledge and skills match job demands and it also refers to the employee’s sense of belonging. Do they feel like they are a good fit for the job? A good fit for their team? And a good fit for the organization?
• Links – Links are strong positive connections with other employees. Has an employee developed positive ties with their team and other colleagues?
• Sacrifice – If an employee left the organization, would they be giving up things they value? These can be material or psychological costs. What would they sacrifice if they left? What’s the cost of leaving?

Job embeddedness is important because if you can increase an employee’s embeddedness, they are less likely to leave. Research has shown it increases retention as well as performance. Employees who feel they are a good fit have a sense of job security, feel like they belong, are more committed, and more motivated to do their job well.

Ways to Increase Embeddedness

There are several things you can do as a leader or manager to increase your employee’s sense of belonging and fit. The first starts with onboarding—the process you use to bring new employees into the company. Studies have consistently shown the first 90 days on the job to be critical in terms of whether or not an employee commits and makes the decision to stay for the long haul. Ensuring they have a positive first experience, receive adequate training, and get connected or embedded quickly makes a world of difference.

Another way to increase embeddedness it to take an active role in employee career planning. What training and development opportunities do employees on your team want and need? Spend time with them to work out a career plan within your organization and make it standard practice to promote from within.

Third, enhance work-life balance. This plays to the sacrifice component of job embeddedness. Provide employees with more control over how, when, and where they do their job. You may even want to consider implementing a results-only work environment (or ROWE) which will allow employees to more effectively manage their work and their life. With more control over their schedule, they can pursue interests outside of work as well. This raises the cost of leaving. They will be sacrificing a whole lot more than just a job if they leave. They’ll be giving up work-life balance, the freedom to pursue other interests, and control over their schedule. That’s a pretty significant sacrifice.

Finally, consider moving employees around within the organization if they don’t fit on their team. Perhaps you have an employee that hasn’t been able to form any positive links with their team; they don’t yet have a sense of belonging. If you shift them to another work group, they may feel a better fit and find colleagues with whom they have more similar and compatible personalities and skill sets. This can completely turn around a low performer and make them one of your star players.

If you’re interested in improving performance, productivity, and increasing retention, look at job embeddedness. Examining fit, links, and sacrifice can make a big difference in terms of whether an employee stays or goes.

Today over at the CubeRules.com blog, Scot Herrick shared his take on the 3 worst pundit methods to make your job layoff-resistant. 

His three nominations for worst job advice you could follow during this time of economic uncertainty and layoffs are right on. AND they are incredibly ROWE friendly. Be sure to read the full article, but here are the key takeaways if you want to keep (and excel) in your job:

1. Face time and long hours don’t (and shouldn’t) count for much. 
2. “Looking busy” is a waste of your time, the customer’s time, and your company’s time—plus it won’t help you find your next job (Interviewer: “So what did you do at your last job?” You: “Umm… I looked busy, really busy.”).
3. Work-life balance is irrelevant; control over your life, and thus your work, is what really counts.

What’s the only thing that really matters? Results. Focus on accomplishing those—and work to hire and retain people that do the same—and you’ll be in good shape.

During our fourth and final call in the Flexible Work Summit, Blake Leath of The Blake Leath Group, Ryan Healy, co-founder of Brazen Careerist, and Kyra Cavanaugh, owner of Life Meets Work, shared “Strategies for Stretching Leaders and Teams.”

During today’s call we talked about ways to successfully implement change within your organization, how Generation Y is changing work and leadership, and tips for managing flexible performance. Here are a few of my personal notes from the call:

• Resilience is paramount in a changing work environment and can show up 4 different ways: in individuals, in behaviors (e.g., it can be practiced and learned; meaning & engagement are important), in experiences (e.g., emotional echoes), and in leadership (be engaged, accessible, and get some wins).
• The One Degree Assessment: Look for the right one degree of difference—one thing you could change and do really well, that would make a world of difference within your organization.
• Gen Y employees, despite the common perception that they are disloyal job hoppers, are actually extremely loyal to their team.
• When leading Millennial employees, take extra time to provide clear direction, fully explain expectations, and provide plenty of feedback. It’s also important to provide opportunities for leaders to emerge from groups and teams.
• Want to start a flex work policy in your organization? Take first steps by co-creating a flexible work agreement with your employees. Lay out all the expectations and set a time to revisit and revise after a trial period.
• Which side of the management style continuum are you on? Controlling or Trusting? 
• Work-life balance doesn’t have to be perceived as a “soft” benefit. You can, and should, tie flexibility to profits and productivity—especially in this economy.

If you’d like access to the full recording of the fourth session, head over to www.FlexibleWorkSummit.com and register for the entire teleseminar series (the recording is available until Friday afternoon). 

If you missed any part of the Flexible Work Summit and want to grab the recordings, transcripts, and action guides for the entire series, you can do so here. There is a Home Study version with binder and CDs, as well as a Digital Version with MP3s and PDFs. These packages are available at a discounted price for the next few days.

Finally, I’m offering $100 off of the upcoming Flexible Work Bootcamp until Friday, May 22nd. As a member of the Bootcamp you’ll receive 12-week s of in-depth and personalized training and coaching, along with a lot of extra resources to help you implement flexibility within your organization. We’re keeping the size of the group small so you and your team can get the personal attention you need to implement a customized flexible work solution within your organization. You can find the full details about the program and reserve your spot at the discounted rate at www.FlexibleWorkBootcamp.com.

Today was the first call in the Flexible Work Summit featuring Leanne Chase from CareerLifeConnection.com, Mike Owcarz from Main Sequence Technologies, Karen Corday from the Sloan Work & Family Research Network, and Phyllis Mufson, Coach & Career Consultant.

The focus of today’s call was about work-life balance and how the desire for flexibility in the workplace isn’t just about mommies—it’s actually a cross-generational, gender-neutral desire. Here are a few of my personal notes from the call:

• Tools for making flexibility easier: VoIP, online access to email, web-based collaboration software, a disciplined schedule (especially if working from home).
• A huge driver of Generation Y engagement is access to flexibility.
• ROI: 73% of employees with high flexibility plan to stay with their employers for the next year (less turnover, decreased cost of training new employees).
• Research shows flexibility has a positive effect on reaching business goals.
• Just having flexible work policies isn’t enough – organizations must create a culture that’s supportive of flexibility, encourages it, and doesn’t punish those opting to work flexibly.
• Companies like Home Depot and Borders are offering great alternatives for Boomer’s not quite ready for full retirement: work part of the year in your home town, then work the winter in Florida—it’s the Snowbird program.
• During negotiation, remember that flexibility isn’t all about you. It’s a two way street and you need to highlight the benefits of flexible work for the organization as well.
• If your boss is skeptical or uncertain, propose a trial period with a definite end date to evaluate results.
• Business size can make a big difference. Negotiating flexibility may not be as difficult in a small business, but as the number of employees grows, consider finding like-minded individuals that all want flexible work and take your request to HR together.

If you’d like access to the full recording of the first session, head over to www.FlexibleWorkSummit.com and register for the entire teleseminar series. During tomorrow’s session we’ll be talking about Strategies for Stretching WHERE You Work, and will be discussing telecommuting, virtual teams, and how to use technology to revolutionize your business. 

If you have any questions you’d like addressed during the Summit, leave me a comment below.

Jessica Lawrence, CEO of the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, recently posted the ROWE Report on her blog.  The report offers a peek inside her organization’s successful first six-months of working in a results-only work environment (ROWE). 

You can download the full report here, but I want to highlight a few of the findings I found especially compelling (note: these statistics compare the percent change pre-ROWE to 6-months post-ROWE):

• “Good” or “great” productivity when working: 69% increase
• “Good” or “great” efficiency when working: 81% increase
• “Good” or “great” control of time: 245% increase
• “Good” or “great” work/life balance: 417% increase

Additionally, they found:

• Job satisfaction increased 80%.
• Voluntary turnover decreased 40%.

The employees felt strongly that teamwork and communication had greatly improved and that employee engagement had increased. Overall, 93% of employees feel more in control of their lives, and feel ROWE is good for them as employees and good for the organization as a whole.

The report also includes open-ended comments. Here is a snapshot of how employees feel about ROWE:

• “I LOVE ROWE!!! PLEASE DON’T EVER GO BACK TO THE OLD WAY!”
• “It’s been the best work experience ever.”
• “It is the best of both worlds–providing me with the freedom and flexibility of an independent contractor combined with the collegiality and team spirit of a traditional corporate structure — I LOVE IT!”
• “I hope we never stop ROWE.”

Finally, Jessica makes an excellent point in the ROWE Report:

“ROWE is not an employee “perk” – it is a way of aligning the company’s culture around key values that have a positive impact on both the employees and the company.”

And she’s absolutely right. ROWE isn’t just a perk, it’s a new way of operating. It’s a new way of working that has the potential to change everything. Take a look at the report and decide for yourself: Does ROWE really work?

I believe wholeheartedly in the ROWE business model and will be talking about it next week during Wednesday’s session of the Flexible Work Summit: Strategies for Stretching HOW You Work. During that time I want to answer your biggest questions about ROWE. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you want to know about going ROWE. And be sure to grab your free pass for the Flexible Work Summit – we have an amazing line-up of 10 speakers talking about all aspects of workplace flexibility and I know you don’t want to miss out!

I want to invite you to join me and 8 other experts as we reveal how to revolutionize your business by harnessing the power of workplace flexibility. Flexibility is a proven business strategy, not a passing fad! In this free virtual seminar series you will learn the insider secrets of increasing flexibility, productivity, and success! Sign up for your free pass now: FlexibleWorkSummit.com! 

Here’s an overview of the 4 sessions:

Strategies for Stretching WHEN You Work | Monday, May 11th, 2pm CST

• How to create a competitive edge in your business by harnessing work-life integration.
• Why work-life fit is more important than work-life balance.
• How workplace flexibility isn’t just about mommies (Secret: it’s actually a cross-generational and gender-neutral issue).

Strategies for Stretching WHERE You Work | Tuesday, May 12th, 2pm CST

• How to successfully implement telecommuting and remote working for your team.
• Tips and tricks for effectively managing a virtual team.
• How to harness technology to revolutionize your workplace.

Strategies for Stretching HOW You Work | Wednesday, May 13th, 2pm CST

• How to make work all about producing results (vs. putting in time, office politics, and face time).
• How to drive results for yourself and your employees by mastering the art of managing to SMART goals.
• Secrets for turning frustrated workers into high-impact performers.

Strategies for Stretching Leaders & Teams | Thursday, May 14th, 2pm CST

• How Generation Y is changing work and leadership—and why it’s a good thing!
• How leadership must evolve to support this new world of flexible work.
• Tips for implementing flexibility in a strategic way that improves team and leader performance.

Recently Jessica Lawrence, CEO of the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, posted the following on her blog about what it’s like to work in a ROWE:

“I overslept this morning. I was supposed to get up at 6 and I woke up at 7:15. If I wanted to get to work in time for a 9 a.m. conference call, I only had 15 minutes to get ready. I was just about to enter into panic mode when I stopped myself.

Why did I need to be at the office for a conference call? I had my computer. I had my phone. Nobody needed me at the office.

I was about to practically kill myself getting ready and waste 30 minutes sitting in traffic for no reason whatsoever. .. A good reminder that truly being ROWE requires that you constantly ask yourself “why.”

Jessica has been working in a ROWE for a while now and still feels those moments of panic that are tied to the old, traditional way of working. You may feel the same way. Beginning to work differently than the mass majority can bring up feelings of guilt, panic, worry that people think you’re cheating or beating the system, jealousy, and fear of being left out because you’re not in the office all the time to catch the latest gossip.

The fact of the matter is that we all hold deeply entrenched beliefs and ideas about how work looks, and doing something different can be scary. But I say if it feels a little scary, a little uncomfortable, you’re probably moving in the right direction. Sometimes we have to start acting differently to instigate change. Change your behaviors and your beliefs will follow.

Here are a few activities you can challenge yourself to try out over the next few weeks. Now I’m not suggesting you to do anything that will get you fired, but if you do have some flexibility with your job and you’re not taking full advantage of it, try shaking things up a bit. I know many business owners and entrepreneurs that have full control over their schedule, but are still stuck in the rut of the traditional work week—this would be a perfect exercise for you!

• Get up and leave the office right now with no explanation (if needed, finish your work at home or from a Starbucks around the corner).
• Schedule a personal appointment (e.g., doctor, dentist, hair cut, massage) in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.
• Take your kids to school and go into the office “late” and then “leave early” to pick them up from school.
• Take next Tuesday completely off work.
• Turn down a meeting request where your presence isn’t truly warranted.
• The next time you have a beautiful spring day, take a break from work by walking around the block (and don’t set a time limit on your return).
• Enjoy a leisurely 2-hour lunch with a friend on a weekday.

What other ideas do you have for baby steps to begin pushing the boundaries of how, when, and where you work? Which challenge are you going to take on next week? Leave a comment below and let me know if fear is a factor in how flexible you are with your work schedule.