Sometimes Less is More?
October 22nd, 2009 by Caroline HoenkWorking smart versus working hard.
Work time versus family time.
Work as an end versus work as a means.
Work-life balance continues to be a hot topic, but it’s hardly a novel one. After all, perhaps the most famous of all of Aristotle’s ideas is the “Golden Mean” – the idea that virtue is found in balancing two opposite vices.
But if we’ve been talking about it for so long, why does it remain so elusive? Is there really magic to be found in this idea that balance makes us not only happier, but smarter, more creative and more efficient? And if that’s true, does it benefit employers and not just employees?
I’ll confess that I’m part of Generation Y, a segment of the workforce that has been a bit scorned for being high-maintenance and maybe a bit entitled. This generation has challenged this notion of work-life balance far more than those before, because they actually value things like flexible work schedules and creativity over salaries and titles.
So, what does this mean for employers? In the last month, I’ve read three separate articles that argued why time off and working “smart” is something that employers should actually encourage and not just grudgingly accept.
Citing a four-year study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, an article in the Wall Street Journal shares some surprising findings. When members of twelve different teams at a consulting company were forced to take a block of “predictable” time off each week, productivity actually improved. Beyond that, teams became better communicators, were viewed more favorably by their clients and streamlined their work processes.
In an article titled “Hard Work’s Overrated, Maybe Detrimental,” Fast Company asserted that if you’re a company that wants your employees to be creative and innovative, then time off is not only nice, it’s necessary. As the author says, “Have you ever had a great idea at your desk? But how often does that bulb go off in the shower, or in bed?” Using neuroscience to back up the claims, the argument suggests that allowing time for employees minds to wander and encouraging them to engage in unstructured conversations actually leads to better solutions and ideas than they’d come up with just sitting at their desks.
Now, it all sounds great in theory, but more difficult in practice, right? There won’t be any one-size-fits-all solution, but there are a variety of ways that company’s can incorporate this idea.
- Encourage your employees to take their vacation days – and for them to actually be on vacation. How many of us go on vacation but spend a good portion on our Blackberries? There’s value in really unplugging from the grid.
- Schedule “unscheduled” time – sure, it’s a bit of a contradiction, but set aside some time when teams are encouraged to get together and just free-flow ideas. From the outside, the topics of the discussion may seem unfocused and unproductive, but that’s the point.
- Create an office atmosphere where people can work in places other than at their desks – often a change in scenery sparks new ideas and encourages better creativity. Be flexible.
- Consider instituting a sabbatical program – the topic of another Fast Company article, many argue that longer periods of time off not only make employees happy, but they also allow them to step away, see the bigger picture and come back with a new perspective. There can certainly be structure to the sabbatical, however. Maybe the employee wants to go teach in another country, for example.
There are a multitude of ways that employers can create an atmosphere that fosters creativity and helps employees achieve the “Golden Mean.” What are your company’s policies for encouraging work-life balance and helping keep employees engaged and innovative?