How to Have a Job #22, My So-Called Life-Work Balance 🔨

"John Henry hammered on the right-hand side.
Steam drill kept driving on the left.
John Henry beat that steam drill down.
But he hammered his poor heart to death, Lord, Lord,
He hammered his poor heart to death."

- Anonymous, John Henry

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Gracious reader,

Last Monday, I was working. Until I was helping my dad to move furniture and wet-vac his flooded basement.

There's no such thing as "work-life balance." There's only making choices about priorities.

Work is important. My 80-something dad's health and safety is priceless.

Priority Mail

When you're both fortunate and intentional, you can make some choices to design your work life. The Third Path suggests some good questions to ask about your choices. Like, "What does it mean to lead an 'integrated life?'"
Kristin Maschka writes, speaks, and advocates on redesigning family relationships to eclipse our weary gender stereotypes. I'm currently reading her book, This Is Not How I Thought It Would Be: Remodeling Motherhood to Get the Lives We Want Today.
Family looms large in the work-life equation. In the US, benefits of work-life policies are often unequally distributed. Even in organizations with good work-life policies, non-parents may feel overburdened or slighted unless their needs are acknowledged, too. Leaders, it's your job to manage -- and advocate for -- equitable impact of your work-life policies.

Tipping Points

Use all of your #vacation. How? Have a Hard time Escaping Work? Here’s How to Make Sure Your Vacation Actually Feels Like One, by Brigid Schulte at The Washington Post features practical suggestions from Jessica DeGroot.
"France enacted legislation last January giving employees at companies with more than 50 workers the right to ignore off-duty emails." I'm so there for the spirit of NYC Councilmember Ráfael Espinal's like-minded proposal regarding after-hours work #emails. Instead of waiting for a law to address the issue, why don't you discuss humane email policies for your own team?

Many thanks for your questions, suggestions, and feedback.

And this Memorial Day, may we all find peace -- especially those who have lost loved ones in war.

Thanks,

Anne Libby

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