Education 2.0 & 3.0

Everyone with a job knows how stressful it can be when personal priorities clash with work schedules. The conflict could involve a continuing medical concern, taking care of children or aging parents, or getting enough exercise or running errands. A too-strict schedule combined with too many demands can cause workers to feel that they have let down their companies, their families and themselves.

A recent study, published in The American Sociological Review, aimed to see whether the stress of work-life conflicts could be eased if employees had more control over their schedules, including being able to work from home. As might be expected, the answer was yes — but before everyone deserts their desks, some important caveats bear consideration.

Throughout my 18-year corporate life, I would find myself staying late in the office more often than not. If I’m brutally honest with myself, I did it for two reasons – to try to stay caught up with what I felt was a massive workload, but also, to show management that I was a very hard worker. One day, a senior vice president who noticed my habitual late hours said, “If you’re staying late so often, Kathy, you’re just not prioritizing and managing your work effectively.” And boy did that make me mad.

At that time, I didn’t see myself as the problem – it was my boss and the never-ending chaos on my plate each day that was the culprit. Today, in my coaching work with emerging women leaders, one of the chief complaints I hear is, “I simply cannot balance my other life priorities with the number of hours I have to work.” It’s truly an epidemic.