We lead increasingly rich and complex lives. That is a good and bad thing from an evolutionary perspective. The "good" part bundles better health care with things like amazing technology and convenience to access any part of the globe at a fraction of historic travel costs. The "bad" makes unprecedented demands on us 24/7/365 and makes it increasingly hard for us to commit our most precious resource (time) efficiently and equitably to meet family, personal, work, fitness and other social demands.
As I have moved around the world, it has been fascinating to learn how different cultures and religions view leisure and then to overlay that with both the different work organization systems that prevail and with the increasing demands for productivity gains - multi-tasking has become a shorthand for doing more in less time!
I think perhaps the most balanced work-life system I ever worked in was in Indonesia in the early 90s when I was seconded to a University to develop the national marine conservation curriculum. We were required to be at work 6 days/week, starting at 0700 in the morning, but finishing around 2pm. There was an obligatory afternoon nap (it was the tropics!) and then time for G+Ts and cards or other diversions in the evening. Fridays were even simpler - the morning was for sport and then the folks would head to the mosque at noon and then go home. Saturdays were a kind of compensation day for Friday's lack of output! Working that relaxed cycle I managed to write 32 papers or reports that year - my highest ever rate of written output...
An annual survey in the Economist magazine ranks and then evaluates different countries use of leisure time. Typically European countries rank highly on the amount of holidays available. However, many articles point out the productivity trade offs that such long vacation entails and these serve to further entrench the belief that somehow work is good and leisure is not. There is clearly a view in many modern economies that working longer and longer hours is meritorous and that in tough times such as we now face, we all need to work harder to get us out of the current economic mess. With the recent loss of retirement wealth, I regularly hear people talking about having to work until they are 70+ in order to be able to afford to retire! Yikes!
Increasingly people prefer to not distinguish between work and leisure - for many (and I think that now includes me), there is a big overlap betwen how I like to spend my time and how it might be "accounted for" -- work and leisure are clearly somewhat simplistic descriptions of how we use time! That overlap is attenuated by increasingly similar "platforms" for leisure and work - e.g. volunteering is now a more common "leisure activity". Similarly, there has been an explosion of research into internet psychology with many researchers noting that desoite the increasing problems of "videophilia" there are many benefits of internet use as a diversion from work! !
However you choose to spend your "leisure" or (perhaps more accurately) non- ASLC work time, I encourage all staff to be mindful of the importance of finding a balance that enables you to refresh your mind, recharge your batteries and renew your relationships outside work.
Simple things like using a full week of leave as leave from work and so not checking on email or voicemail, taking public holidays off to be with your family or even just taking a few hours off as leave to go for a walk on a sunny day can go a long way towards sustaining your long term health and happiness in the workplace and outside of work.
I'm increasingly "practicing what I preach" and so am heading off for a week (at the end of next week) with my family to enjoy the spring and scenery via boat - for the first time in many years, I won't have email or cell access! I have also asked all my direct reports to work on reducing excess leave carry forward and take time to talk with their staff about how to better balance work and life interests.
I encourage you to share your thoughts and sugestions on how to better balance your work and life outside of the SeaLife Center- what works well for you, what don't you recommend, what tips do you have for colleagues new to working at the Center?
1. What are G+Ts?
ReplyDelete2. Afternoon naps sound great!
3. I'd rather put in a solid Friday and have Sat/Sun off. I like to have consecutive days off to feel fully recharged and have the opportunity for longer weekend activities.
4. I like the idea of trips with no email/voicemail. The pressure to check in can be hard to resist when you think of the mountain of email that will likely await you at the end of a long trip. A good way to reduce the email mountain is to remind your contacts well in advance of your trip that you'll be out, along with using the Out of Office feature.
5. Especially since we live at the end (start) of the road - make time to get OUT OF TOWN for the weekend once in a while. It's amazing what a temporary change of scenery can do for your mental health.
I agree with the above comments. I would also add to try and go somewhere WARM in the fall or winter months. I skipped that one year (decided to go to Chicago to see my family instead) and it was not a good thing at all - in fact, I kept finding myself saying negative things about Seward when really I love this little town! I found it made a huge difference when I took a 2 week vacation the next year to sunny Florida - I will never go a year again without going somewhere warm (sorry family).
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