January 2007
24 by 7
How did we get to this 24 by 7 world? One person I know blames the Blackberry. Even before the Blackberry though, we had pagers that made people easily accessible. Oh sure without cell phones maybe our response was less immediate but we still could provide 24 by 7 response.
When I started my career at AT&T people worked from 8am to 5pm. I had a position in sales which included customer service i.e. helping the customer to locate his/her equipment after it was ordered. Not everyone took the customer service piece seriously. In fact sales being sales most account executives wanted to sell not chase orders. I had colleagues who actually "hid" from their customer's service calls!
Now you can get away with that when you are the only game in town but when competition is fierce you have to change your tune. So eventually even AT&T got to having it the rule rather than the exception that people worked long hours and were accessible 24 by 7. No more hiding!
As a youngster I remember jokes about doctors in the summer all being on the golf course on Wednesday. "Don't get sick on Wednesday unless you are on the golf course." Haven't heard that in a while and I actually had a Wednesday appointment with my doctor. She may not work 24 by 7 but the office is open for emergencies 7 days a week.
We're working longer and harder these days and it has gotten really difficult to take time for ourselves. I struggle with this myself. Last summer I took my first vacation without my computer or telephone and went to Italy for two weeks. Scary!! I survived and surprisingly last year was my best year in business. Maybe it was because of the vacation?!
This year I have already put my July vacation on my calendar and made plans to go to Sante Fe, New Mexico. I tell my clients that it's important to set some boundaries around the time we need for ourselves and our families. I am very good about scheduling family time but setting aside time for myself often gets lost in the rush. What about you?
Of course I work for myself so I don't answer to anyone else. When you work for a company, it becomes even harder to take good care of yourself. The culture may reward those who put in extra time. Working during vacation time may in fact be an unwritten requirement.
Not only do we need vacations on a regular basis but we also need time for reflection and contemplation during the day. Finding this can be extremely difficult if you are working in a culture that rewards people for spending longer hours in the office. Grabbing a few minutes of quiet time during the day may be hard but not impossible. (Check the "Take Action" section for some quick break ideas.)
Making a few minutes of quiet reflection a priority in your life is one way to get some of that time you need for yourself. When I was a busy working mother, my children knew that when I came home from the office, I went to my room for a few minutes before I started cooking dinner and/or helping with homework. I needed that time to unwind and refocus.
Even if you just allocate a few minutes, it can be helpful. Hopefully if you have success with small amounts of quiet time, you'll begin to add more!
We also need to have business owners and boards of directors' step up and be vocal on this issue. Companies need to begin to advocate some down time during the day, the week and the year. They need to reward their employees for taking all their vacation time annually.
It is in the company's best interest to do so. The stress of all this work leads to health issues both physical and emotional for employees. With health insurance costs so high perhaps this alone might inspire companies to pay more than lip service to allowing time to relax, regenerate and reflect.
Take Action
- Schedule your vacation for this year. Put it on your calendar. Select your destination and make plans.
- Want some ideas for taking a quick break? Go to http://www.asparker.com/ppts0706.html Select one way to take a break and make it a habit. Take a daily break.
- Contact the Take Back Your Time organization at http://www.timeday.org/ for ways you can support a movement to get Americans (Canadians too) to take their vacation time and limit work to a 40 hour week.
- Having trouble finding time in your day for yourself? Feeling burnt out? I coach people who are overwhelmed by all there is to do and are ready to take action to make their lives more fulfilling and their work more profitable. Give yourself the gift of coaching! Call me at 781-598-0388.