This is Laura Lee Rose, a business and life coach that specializes in professional development, time management, project management and work-life balance strategies. In my GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional continuous online coaching series, I go into office etiquette on various real-world IT topics in detail.
If you are interested in more training in these areas, please signup for the continuing online coaching series.
In the previous newsletter article on Professional Development, we covered some office conflicts (don’t miss another professional newsletter tip—signup for the free newsletter here). A follow-up client question (regarding the previous newsletter article) was “If your workplace is getting too hard, but you like the job – do you leave the job or stay there? What’s your recommendation, please.”
I am not a fan of the idea of working 7 days a week. As a time and project manager, I am more in-lined with realistically scheduling for 5 quality work days (or equivalent). The company is paying you for 5 days of quality (i.e. the very best of you). You can’t give the best of you, if you are not the best of you (which mean the well-rounded healthy, happy, stress-free you). I recommend realistically planning and working 5 quality work days. This way you have the energy and stamina to handle anything that comes your way. You will have the adrenalin required for the infrequent emergency.
“But the works continues to come and my boss expects me to do it. If I don’t do it, I get a poor performance review or worst: fired!”
Imagine the company as a restaurant with a glutton of menu items. But you don’t have the funds (time and energy) to purchase everything on the menu. Therefore, you deliberately pick and choose the items that best fit your budget and preferences. Now, imagine your manager as a blind waiter. The blind waiter will continue to pour your coffee until you say “when”. In both situations (the menu and the coffee), it is your responsibility to speak up. The company and waiter will continue to bring you food and drinks until you say “stop”. Their job is to push their product. And even if you take the meals home to complete later, they end up spoiled and stacked at the back of your refrigerator.
Your manager wants the work ‘done with quality’ — not laying at the bottom of your in-basket (i.e. back of your refrigerator). He doesn’t much care if you get it done or someone else gets it done. Allowing him enough lead time to manage and hand-off to someone else is the responsible thing to do.
“I’m worried about my performance review.”
At the end of the day, your manager expects good work from you. They contracted for 5 days of quality work, allowing you to create a balanced life that sustains your energy, passions, and expertise. The weekends and vacations are designed to energize, feed your creativity and hone your skills. Taking this needed time away from work allows you to be more productive and effective during the paid 5 days at the office. Being fully transparent on the items that you can realistically accomplish with quality and those that need to be re-assigned or postponed, allow your team to properly manage the business. Taking full advantage of the team attitude propels you to a different level. Quality and honest service begets larger rewards.
On the other hand, working long hours 6 or 7 days a week will product mediocre product and services. Not taking the vacations, weekends, breaks and training drains your batteries. Although effective for short periods in ‘high-crunch’ emergencies, the execution as a long-term strategy will be exhausting. You will be producing 7 days of mediocre work. Not producing your best 5 days a week is stealing from your company. The company will not be impressed with the mediocre work (even though you feel you are working hard and putting in extra hours) and you will get a poor performance review. Now you are resenting the extra hours and the lack of appreciation.
Conclusion:
As in the restaurant, the company will always have things for you to do. The projects and ideas will continue to flow and evolve. Every accomplishment will yield new ideas for the next project or service. It is a never-ending spiral of growth and expansion. Therefore, the list will never be completed. If the list will never be completed, then working 7 days a week won’t be enough, either. In the restaurant, you have no problem picking and choosing from the menu. You have no problem saying “when”. We need to feel that comfortable in the professional office as well.
On the other hand, I believe you can have it all. To learn how to have it all, please subscribe to the GoTo Academy: Soft Skill Tools for the GoTo Professional.
If you liked this tips, more can be found at www.lauraleerose.com/blog or subscribe to my weekly professional tips newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cZ9_-/
The weekly newsletter contains tips on:
1) Time management
2) Career maintenance
3) Business networking
4) Work life balance strategies
If you haven’t taken advantage of your introductory time management coaching session, please contact LauraRose@RoseCoaching.info