Work Life Balance, and Why Managers Should Care

After some technical difficulties and a nice long vacation with my family, I'm back to blogging.

The vacation was great, and a real recharger. I went away for several weeks with my family and had a great time. I also took a laptop with me and logged in most days.

Most people are probably thinking that I'm a workaholic, and wonder just how unhappy my family was. The truth is, they were content. Why? Because they knew that I could not have taken such a long vacation had I not offered to do this. Of course, it helped that I did not spend that much time logged in, and I timed it to avoid interfering with our activities. It wasn't a lot of time, but it meant that some important projects didn't get stalled. And, for me personally, it also meant that I came back to a (virtual) desk with only a reasonable amount of stuff to get through, and no emergencies or past due deadlines. So, the relaxation and recharging I did didn't get dissipated the first day back on the job.

In short, it was a win all around.

Here is the thing we need to remember as we ask staff to work smarter and harder, to extend themselves and take up the slack for staff and other budget cuts: Your staff are human being with complex needs, and no matter how dedicated they may be to the cause, the office is not their entire life. Ignore this fact, and you run into trouble. Morale will sink, people will get burnt out, and even your most devoted staff may develop a habit of doing doing just what is required. It's generally not deliberate - people simply get burnt out and their effectiveness is lowered.

Equally seriously, you may very well begin to shed your best people. Even in a bad economy, people (especially your best performers) will take overwhelming workloads for only so long. As the economy improves, there will be more openings for your best staff to look for. Here is something else to keep in mind: The nonprofit sector is hurting badly, but the overall unemployment rate seems to be marginally improving. Given the way non-profit funding works, there is a good chance that the disparity of available jobs will grow. So, you might look around the sector and assume that your staff really has nowhere to go, thus you are safe. But the reality is that many of your staff will move to the private sector, however reluctantly, if you push them too hard for too long. And, the resentment level of the staff who really can't leave will grow.

Obviously, this is not good for the health of your organization, or for the long term success of your mission. You need to be able to attract and retain people who are willing to go the extra mile. But that willingness will dissipate if you push too hard and take too much advantage of that willingness without giving something back. Whether that "something" is the ability to take a longer than normal vacation sometimes, a flexible schedule that allows parents more time with their children, or something else is not really the issue. The main point is that you find what your staff needs and wants and then do whatever you can to accommodate those needs.

When people understand and see that you try to say "yes" as often as you can, they will take a "no" much better. And when they understand that you care about them and realize that they are people with lives beyond the office, they are much more likely to go the extra mile.