Hot
Topic Archive
January
2004
As
a part of our commitment to building a stronger volunteerism
community we intend to invite guest authors to contribute
'Hot Topic' columns from time to time. This month
we are pleased to introduce our first ever guest contributor
- Martin J Cowling
Confessions
of a reforming workaholic
by
Martin J Cowling
Confess!
How
often have you:
- Continued to check your e-mail well into your holidays?
- Taken work calls on the weekend?
- Attended meetings, conferences and seminars in your
"free" time?
- Spent a Sunday writing the board report?
- Roped your family into assembling the quarterly
volunteer mail out?
I
for one, am guilty of all of these charges!
A
clergy friend of mine was reflecting on the death
bed confessions he has heard over the years. He remarked
that no one has ever said "Oh my God, I wish I had
spent more time at work" - in every case, if given
a second chance, people would choose to invest more
time with family and friends and less at work.
As
working hours in Australia continue to climb - and
we keep filling our 'spare' time with more and more
activities, there has been a considerable discussion
emerge about 'work / life balance'.
Questions
about the role of family, the increased use of child-care
facilities and household pressures have begun to gain
increasing media attention. For example, Qantas recently
screened a series of advertisements tapping into that
consciousness, by extolling the virtues of spending
more quality time at home through their service frequency
and business club facilities.
What
is it about our work that can engage us so completely
and fully to the exclusion of other activities?
For
those of us who work for not for profit organisations
with committed volunteers, inspiring missions, and
wide-ranging opportunities, the entanglement of work
can become very strong. Couple this positive aspect
of our employment with the changes of the last decade
in our sector -not for profits have become more accountable,
more transparent and more competitive. Our policy
manuals have evolved from scraps of paper on noticeboards
to thick manuals that require us to engage in regular
rounds of training. Even the end of year summer BBQ
for volunteers requires a food-handling course before
we can touch a single sausage!
The
battle to secure the resources our organisations need
to meet client focused outcomes in an era of declining
government subsidy, increased expectations and higher
client demand have raised the pressure bar to even
greater heights. In many organisations the expectation
that we will deliver 120% effort through periods of
extreme effort, seems to be a year round feature of
operating.
Into
this pressure mix, we can add the rapid transformation
of our workplaces with pervasive technologies such
as the mobile phone, 24-hour email, personal voice
mail, instant messaging, fax machines, photocopiers
and word processing. These new innovations have broken
down the barrier between the work place and our home
space, causing us to feel that we should all be even
more available to our fellow workers employers and
clients!
When
I first started work (less than two decades ago!)
, my business card simply had an address and the organisation's
main phone number. Today in addition to these, my
card now also lists details for a direct phone contact,
my mobile number, a fax number and my email address!
Fifteen years ago, when I communicated a business
agreement, it was carefully worded in a concise letter
which I wouldn't expect a reply to for a week. Now
someone is sms-ing me if I haven't replied to their
email in 6 hours!
While
most of us can easily identify the impact that the
changing nature of work has had on us, it is the complexity
of our private schedules that is mind boggling! Every
aspect of our private lives seems to have been impacted
by the dominant consumerism of our world; the level
of variety and choice available for ourselves, our
spouses, our children and even our pets is becoming
overwhelming! The range of new products launched annually
is exponentially greater than those launched in our
parent's generation.
The
challenge therefore facing each of us, is how we build
fulfilling lives at a point in time when work pressure
and the plethora of choices around our private lives
seem to demand more and more of our time.
- How do we balance
our time at work with that at home and other activities?
- What does it take
to demonstrate responsibility to ourselves and our
families whilst being recognised as effective efficient
professionals?
- How do we find
time to volunteer ourself when we are so stretched?
- How do we offer
satisfying volunteer programs for individuals who
are either fully engaged in this same 'rat race'
or for those who are completely or partially disengaged
from it?
My
own learning is centred around five key actions that
I seek to live out and implement.
Firstly,
I do a regular (at least annual) inventory of my professional
and personal life. At that time I revisit my history,
goals and annual achievements while asking:
- What are the key things that I want to accomplish
in life outside my employment?
- What is it I am seeking to achieve at work and how
will I get there?
- What is it about my work that is important to me
& what would I do if I lost that aspect?
- What is it that I need to let go of - the things
that I must accept I cannot do or won't be able to
do? I continually need to be reminded to accept I
can't do it all
- What things do I not need to own?
It
is sobering to think that while the expectation is
most Western families 'should' own a DVD player, one
and a half billion people do not have access to regular
electricity! My family or myself need not everything
that is available on the market.
In
consultation with my life partner, I set goals for
that year and for the next five and ten years. These
are not resolutions but concrete clear desires. They
will change but they give me an idea of what is important
and where I want to head. Using this process, I have
become much more focussed on ensuring my goals match
the work life balance I am seeking.
I
have worked with people who have rolled their eyes
when have said I am setting time aside to plan. These
individuals (who have sometimes been my manager) have
intimated that planning is a luxury. I remember one
commenting "oh how I wish I had the time to plan".
Some
of us become visibly frustrated with planning processes,
instead wanting to get out there and act. On occasions
this has been due to the planning process itself.
Planning doesn't always have to be a quiet white board
process in a retreat centre. I have one friend who
plans by playing loud rock music, dancing to it, while
taking breaks to sketch ideas up on large sheets of
paper positioned round his work-space!
Secondly,
I now take time to check my progress weekly and ask
myself:
- What is it I have achieved.in concrete terms?
- Where could I have improved?
Thirdly,
I have asked someone to take the role of a coach in
my life. While there is some cynicism about what has
become a significant new 'industry', there is a lot
of value in having someone who believes in you and
your work and is involved in focussing and challenging
for greater success and balance.
Fourthly,
in our lives we need to build in renewal time. This
Christmas we provided space at our home for 'orphans
and escapees' who needed a space to drop in with no
fixed time, no agenda and no expectations. One person
remarked several times that this was the most relaxed
Christmas they had ever had! We all need to make space
in our lives that are 'agenda-less'. Times without
TV, space without shopping and moments without movement.
Finally,
in addition to managing our own personal work and
life balance, I believe we have a responsibility in
our leadership roles to model and coach 'balance'
for our paid staff and volunteers. For volunteers
we need to create work environments that are as professional
as any paid situation but which feel very different
to paid work. A place where volunteers have a sense
of control, do not feel continually pressured with
deadlines and where they have a chance to taste a
fun and/or worthwhile experience with real outcomes.
From
this vantage point I have no idea what the world of
work will look like in five or ten years time. I do
know that I need to take control of my finite time
and ensure that I extract the maximum I can from my
circumstances. I want to always be able to look back
and not feel that my time at work, in voluntary activities
and in leisure time has been spent in areas that were
not my priorities.
So
over to you, let's hear what you think...
- Share the goals
you have set for 2004 to maintain a better work/life
balance
- Where do you believe
society is heading with the world of work?
- How do you strive
to balance your own personal and professional life?
- How does your organisation
support volunteers in work / life issues?
- What voice do
managers of volunteers have in the discussion around
work life balance?
Respond
to this month's Hot Topic
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message)
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