I am on a quest to devour as much information about all the trends that are impacting our new reality. Today, I thought I would share the work-life balance trend. In two parts. The remote working or work from home trend and the worry/anxiety trend.
Here is a snippet from a recent study conducted by the good people at Robert Half. 79% of all employees are now working from home and 85% like the arrangement and want it to continue. Plus 55% said their work-life balance had improved!
Then the other week, I was chatting with a young and brilliant financial advisor. He was overjoyed that FINALLY the majority of the insurance companies he represents are now entirely online. Because like many of us, he had complained for years about the lack of decent online tech. At long last, this pandemic has been the final straw to move the needle.
Speaking of moving the needle,
I bet you are very much like me. Suspicious about any claims regarding new ways that purportedly work better. Begrudgingly give it a try on a small scale. Then once exposed to something great, you NEVER go back to the old ways. The truth is we all adapt, quickly and move on especially when we get amazing and easy outcomes.
(On the off-chance you said you are definitely a contrarian, I beg you to look at your cell phone. Betcha you are not using an ancient model.)
Now let’s address something that might be uncomfortable. What actions do you need to make in order to fully embrace this ‘work-life balance thing’ in your business? Because here’s a staggering fact. 50% of all businesses, all around the world, will NOT exist inside of 18 months. They can’t adapt; they will collapse.
Since I care deeply about you staying in the game for the long term, I want you to think about something. What must you do in your business to accommodate the overwhelming desire your employees will have to maintain their work-life balance? Because here’s another staggering fact. Happy team members always deliver extraordinary results.
There is a ton of worry, anxiety and angst circulating all around us. If we care to look, there is also an abundance of joy, contentment and newfound freedoms too. Let me share one of
Seth Godin’s latest gems
“It’s easy for us to choose to worry. The world is upside down, the slog continues, a tragedy unevenly but widely distributed.
Worry takes a lot of effort. And worry, unlike focus, learning or action, accomplishes nothing of value.
And, at the same time, due to the time-horizon of the pandemic, it’s also tempting for us to simply wait. To wait for things to get back to normal.
But all the time we’re spending waiting (for a normal that is unlikely to be just like it was) is time we’re not spending learning, leading and connecting.
Waiting is sort of by definition, a waste of time. But time is scarce, so wasting it is a shameful act.
If we decided to simply reduce our waiting and worrying allocation by 50%, just imagine how much we could discover, how many skills we could learn, how dramatically attitudes could shift.
We can still wait (even though time will pass either way). And we can still worry (even though it doesn’t do any good).
But perhaps we can figure out how to do it less.”
With that in mind, my second question is this — what actions can you take today to minimize your worries by 50%? You see, worry gets defeated by deliberate and intentional choice and then action.
So, staying with the topic of your employees, can you brainstorm a bunch of ideas about how you can help them maintain their work-life balance?
If you say yes,
then as you brainstorm, draw up a roadmap as well to make it so and then begin by taking some steps. You will be amazed and delighted at what happens to the level of worry and anxiety you carry. (Hint: it drops by at least 50%)
If you answer no,
I have a framework to help you deal with all of your new realities in a sane, anxiety-reducing manner. Because your choices today impact your future tomorrow. Interested in seeing what this framework can do for your company’s future? Book a chat with me here.
