The debate on remote work continues. There are merits to being at the office and working from home.
There are two forms of work –
- Synchronous – when we need to work as a team. Planning, organization, debriefing, debating, sharing feedback. All very important activities and those that are best done with colleagues. These are the activities where the younger or relatively inexperienced members of the team get to learn from those who have been there, done that.
- Asynchronous – These are the times of deep work. Times when we need to think and be creative. Times when we do not need interaction. Each of us works best at different times of day and in different places. Some of us are morning people, others are night birds. This kind of work needs to get done, the place and time doesn’t matter as long as the work is done and on schedule.
I firmly believe in the the goodness of people. We are all generally responsible. We all have personal lives and WORK is a part of it.
worklife balance???. Honestly, I don’t know what it really is. To me, work and the other things in life make up for my life. I give my 110% when I’m working and my 110% when I’m not working. As long as I know what needs to get done, I make it my responsibility to get it done. Any persons workday and personal day are part of the same day. And a good day = one where I’m been honest to my responsibilities at work and outside of work.
If you’re working with me, I respect your personal situation. Your family, personal life and work life make up your life. Whatever you are responsible for, those things need to co-exist in harmony. Some weeks we work really hard and it takes more than its fair share. At other times we have priorities outside of work.
A workplace that doesn’t respect this fact has got it wrong! And will ultimately lose its good people. An employee that abuses the responsibility placed with them is not a right fit for their workplace. They will ultimately find themselves out of a place to work. We all naturally gravitate towards places where we’re a fit.
Clear responsibility. Clear communication of expectations. and we can have happy people working at top notch workplaces.
We all work for different reasons. But, whatever those reasons are, for the most of us work enables the things we want from life.
Life & work go together. They cannot compete. They must coexist. If your life and work are different things to you – either you, your people or your workplace has misaligned priorities & expectations from life.
We’re all adults and if trusted to do the right thing, most of us know and do what is right. The balance tilts towards work and non work activities at various points of the day. The balance is different for different people. Be clear within and with others on what that is and you will find harmony in work and in life That harmony makes us happy people at home and at work. Happy people = happy workplaces too!