Many recent articles support the
(false) belief that people are more productive if they work long hours
or even live at work. Yet, there is a growing counter-culture movement
underway supporting the notion of working smarter and only working as hard as
you need to perform well. The popular notion here in the Silicon Valley is
that people work all day and night, 24x7x365 without regard to the other parts
of their life.
It is our belief that you
cannot work 24x7x365 and have a balanced life. The work environment is not
enough to satisfy our sense of belonging to society nor maintaining a balanced
life. We support the notion that a balanced life; maintaining a family
life, exercise, hobbies, side interests, religious or spiritual practices, will actually
enhance your life.
According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics the past several years' data suggest workers are putting in
LESS time each week, with 27.9 percent logging over 49 hours in 1998 versus 29.5
percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, this data does not
show the complete picture. Studies also show workers take fewer and shorter
vacations. United States workers have even passed up even the Japanese
workers,
traditionally known as highly-productive employees. But none of these
studies show the impact of work on our personal life. Fact is, many CEOs
today suggest openly an expectation for employees to practically live at work or
at least be available 24x7x365 any time a manager might need them.
According to the Wall Street
Journal, a study of 386 patients at Lahey Clinic, Burlington, Massachusetts,
found that time urgency was the leading cause of stress, followed by worries
about gaining a sense of control over life. The expectation of working
a 24x7x365 day, combined with challenges in health care, multiple working
people in households, traffic congestion and numerous other problems all can
contribute to the stress indicated by worries about control over
life.
The biggest dichotomy is at the
highest level of management. In a poll taken by Booz, Hamilton & Allen
(see Strategy & Business Review, Q1, 2000) the top 50 traditional NYSE
company CEOs put in 20 - 25 hours less a week than the "new" breed of
top 50 dot.com CEOs. The average work week for the dot-com CEO is over 85
hours a week. That leaves less than 11.85 hours per day to eat, play,
sleep or spend with family. In other words, these CEO's have no life
outside of their work. PBS recently profiled several of the industries leaders claiming they must work these
long hours to be first
to market and stay ahead of their competition.
Is this true? This
behavior certainly isn't healthy, by the labor bureau and many other
studies' standards. With the prolific usage of
pagers and cellular phones and now the concept of instant messaging on a palm
device it appears this expectation of working 24x7 will only get worse.
The Western notion of control
-- that what we do will affect what happens -- is unique. On one end of
the spectrum of self-in-control are the Tibetan Buddhists, who believe the mind
is responsible for all personal reality. By focusing the mind and using
chanting, they can eliminate pain and transform their lives. On the other
end of the spectrum are the indigenous Dinka people inhabiting the Nile River
region of Africa. The Dinkas essentially have no concept of the
individualized self. They do not think about themselves in relation to
events or even what is happening to them at that moment - life is simply a
moment and the whim of the gods. Perhaps if we adopted the Dinka
perspective a little more or even the focus of the Tibetan Buddhists we may not
require this amount of effort in order to achieve our goals.
Working longer hours to gain control of our life
is simply off-track. We can work smarter through finding ways to
simplify our job, utilizing team members to delegate or share certain tasks, and
simply eliminate many needless phone calls and meetings. In my experience,
approximately 80% of our activity is typically non-productive when reviewed
against our objectives (prior to implementing life simplification
tactics). A recent study shows 50% of internet usage at work is non-work
related. We could also ask how much of the other 50% is actually
productive internet time.
We want to encourage
executives and employees to make a stand and STOP working 24x7. It can be
done. Enjoying your job doesn't have to mean sacrificing other parts of
your life. And you can achieve your goals in less time.
Scott
Andrews is CEO and Founder of AspireNow (www.AspireNow.com),
a leading business productivity and personal development firm based in
California. AspireNow helps organizations launch new products and
services, maximize sales, and innovatively change businesses through
cutting-edge and empowering business models and processes. For more
information, contact Scott@AspireNow.com,
or visit http://www.AspireNow.com.
