All Work and No Play

It all happened about 12 years ago. I was at the office catching up on my expense reports. I heard the custodial crew begin to vacuum the carpets. I glanced around the office and realized I was the only one there. Then it hit me that I was probably the only person in our division who knew the custodial crew on a first-name basis. I put the expense reports away and headed for home, where my family was doing what they did so many nights - enjoying the evening without me.

Over the next week, I thought a lot about work-life balance. I was the envy of many professional women; I was under 40 years old and was a senior executive of a Fortune 100 company. I was actively involved in the leadership of the American Society for Quality. I had a wonderful family and a nice home in a good neighborhood. But, despite all those signs of success, I realized that I had the right pieces in place for fulfillment, but I wasn't dividing my time well among them.

A week later I met with my boss and discussed the situation with him. Fortunately, he understood that the business would never succeed if its people neglected their overall well-being. He encouraged me to take advantage of the work-life programs that were offered by the company, including flexible work hours.

So I began a year where I stayed home each morning until I walked my eight-year-old daughter to school. Even though my workday didn't end until 6:30 p.m. on the flexible schedule, I actually didn't get home any later because I had never walked out at 5:00 p.m. anyway.

Was the change easy? No. Was it beneficial? Absolutely. Now that my daughter is a college student, I particularly treasure those special mornings we had together. And, amazingly, my decision to elect nonstandard work hours quickly led to numerous other employees doing the same. Prior to when I took the plunge, our company bragged about its enlightened programs, but no one seemed to take advantage of them.

For several months, I overheard snide remarks, framed as legitimate concerns, about how risky it was for the business that I wasn't available at 8:00 a.m. Eventually, everyone got used to my hours, and a new version of "business as usual" was established.

I was more relaxed and had renewed energy for tasks that had become stale. My creativity increased and my career flourished. I encouraged our team to make use of the available work-life programs, and we all seemed happier and more productive. Where in the past we'd all been afraid to be away from the action, we now realized that the action was an ongoing occurrence and that we could drop in on it no matter what hours we worked.

Ever since that time I've been an advocate for work-life programs. I'm not good at maintaining a perfect balance among my work, personal, and volunteer activities, but I'm committed to using every option that's available to improve my juggling.

This issue of The Journal for Quality and Participation focuses on work-life balance concepts and approaches. We're pleased to present articles by a cadre of international authors, including several of the most prominent experts in this field from the United Kingdom and Canada, where work-life balance programs are far more common than they are in the United States.

Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder, are already at its top, or are building the ladder itself, balance can help you stay healthy and productive. And, as a manager, you need to make it possible for peers and subordinates to achieve balance, too.

When we accept that organizations and the individuals who comprise them will be more successful when balance is attained, we can recognize the wisdom in the adage, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Deborah Hopen

Editor

Copyright Association for Quality and Participation Fall 2004
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