Digital Technology Allows for Greater Flexibility Between Home & Office, But Set Your Own Rules on How it Works Best for You  

I always thought I did a decent job at work-life balance — until I went back to get my MBA while working as a Vice President of HR, all the while trying to keep up with my son, husband, house, and a new puppy.  Suddenly, I felt like I was failing at everything.  I had worked so hard to balance and compartmentalize, but now my “compartments” were bleeding into each other, and there weren’t enough hours in the day. (Looking back, I realize that the timing probably wasn’t the best to get the new puppy, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything now!)

During one of my MBA classes, my professor, who also had a very successful career outside of academia, mentioned the term “work-life integration.”  I thought about that term and what it really meant, now that we no longer compartmentalize our days; instead, everything blends due to technology and the global world in which we all live.

Let me explain further: rewind 10 – 15 years, and the following might have been my typical work day:

• 6 am: Get up and get ready
• 6:30 am: Get my son up, get him ready and get breakfast
• 7:00 am: Drop my son off at daycare, and drive to work
• 7:30 – 5:00 pm: Work, with a 30-to-60-minute lunch — spent running errands
• 5:00 pm: Drive home
• 5:30 – 8:00 pm: Have dinner, play with my son, get him to bed
• 8:00 – 8:30 pm: Turn back on computer to check emails
• 8:30 – 10:00 pm: Do laundry, clean, watch TV, and read

Now, let’s look at a typical work day today:

• 5:30 am: Get up and check both e-mail accounts and news feeds on my IPad
• 6 – 6:45 am: Get ready
• 6:45 – 7:15 am: Glance at my iPhone and then drive to work, often taking a call on the way over via Bluetooth
• 7:15 – 5:30 pm: Work — but drive to son’s school event for an hour in the middle of the day.   While waiting for event to start, check e-mail.  Take calls on way to and from event.  In between meetings at work, call my doctor to schedule an appointment
• 5:30 pm: Drive home, calling a friend or family member on the way, via Bluetooth
• 6 – 10 pm: Have dinner, check homework, do laundry, watch TV, and intermittently check and respond to e-mail or text

The point is this: work is bleeding into our home “compartment” and home is bleeding into our work “compartment.”  This can be seen as good or bad, depending on what perspective, manager, and family you have.  I personally embrace it, and the digital technology that allows for it, since it gives me a lot more flexibility:  I can now work on planes or in the car as my husband is driving to the beach, for instance.  Or I can work from home when the cable technician is coming, and often  get more work done than when I am in the office. In between calls, I can throw in a load of laundry.

Discuss and Implement Guidelines 

For some people, though, work-life integration doesn’t seem to work.  To them, maybe it seems as if it is only good for the company, and not for them as individuals, as their managers expect them to be in the office during set hours, plus on call the other hours of the day.  If that is the case for you, talk to your manager, since working at night and on the weekends should have an upside for you too. After all, unless you are paid hourly, you are paid for the job you do, not the hours you work. Build trust with management that you will get the job done.  With more flexibility, research has shown, productivity will actually rise.

Or, perhaps you have a great manager who “gets” the idea of work-life integration and flexibility, but your family isn’t for it.  Again, it is about building trust and showing what is in it for them.  You may also need to set boundaries and expectations: for example, when on vacation, maybe you can set aside thirty minutes each morning before the kids get up to check and respond to emails and texts – and then leave all electronics in the room before hitting the beach, hiking trail, or slopes.  Meal time might be a no-electronics zone as well.

Work-life integration will look different for everyone. However, with technology and societal changes, this train has already left the station.  As an employee in today’s global marketplace, you need to get onboard and figure out how it will work best for you.