Life-Work Balance: Stoicess’ Secret

June 5, 2024

Life-Work Balance: Stoicess’ Secret.

It’s the weekend and you’re at your daughter’s recital. Suddenly, you feel your cell phone vibrating. You wonder who is calling you now because everyone you know is attending this event with you. As you glance at the phone screen, you see it’s the boss calling you.  You ignore the call, but then you feel the vibration from a text. You think to yourself, “Really?” You slip outside the room momentarily to see what the issue is, and on viewing the text see that the boss has decided an ad hoc meeting is needed 30 minutes from now because the company sent down new corporate guidelines for your unit that must be in place by Monday morning.  It’s a mandatory meeting with no allowable excuses for non-attendance. Your mind turns back to your poor daughter and how you’re going to manage this catastrophe.

In today’s hyper-connected world, maintaining boundaries between work and personal life has become increasingly challenging. With the proliferation of remote work and global teams, the traditional boundaries of the workday have become increasingly fluid, making it essential to understand the impact of after-hours communication on individuals and organizations. The lines have blurred, particularly with after-hours work communications. Striking a balance is an art, requiring a delicate equilibrium between dedication to work and the much-needed personal time.

And from your training with the Stoicess, you know the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life due to after-hours communication can significantly impact an individual’s overall well-being and work-life balance. Constant connectivity can lead to heightened stress levels, reduced relaxation time, and a pervasive sense of being always “on.” This continual state of alertness can erode the essential downtime needed for recharging and maintaining mental and emotional equilibrium.

Moreover, the inability to disconnect from work can disrupt personal relationships, infringe on leisure activities, and impede the ability to fully disengage from professional responsibilities. Over time, this can contribute to feelings of resentment towards work and a diminished sense of fulfillment outside of the professional sphere. Recognizing the detrimental impact of after-hours communication on work-life balance is crucial in addressing this pervasive issue.

For you, you do your best to establish clear and mutually understood boundaries for after-hours work communication in order to preserve your work-life balance and prevent burnout. You’ve had open communication with your employees and your boss, as well as instituted a collective commitment to respecting personal time outside of work hours. Boundaries have been set including designated “offline” periods such as when you are with your daughter and have reached agreement on a shared understanding of what constitutes an urgent versus non-urgent matter.

Thus, in the current situation, you text your boss back and communicate that you are involved in family time currently and will not be able to attend the meeting, but if this is urgent, you’ll be able to discuss it very early tomorrow morning before attending church which time, of course, will infringe on your boss’s typical golfing time.

However, you’ve learned that by setting boundaries for after-hours availability and communicating these boundaries effectively, you have reclaimed a sense of balance and control over your personal time while ensuring that urgent work responsibilities are addressed based on your terms.

Now using My S-T-O-I-C STORYTELLING method:

(S) How do I balance life’s responsibilities when the job is contacting me after hours?
(T) “Ask yourself at every moment, is this necessary?” Marcus Aurelius
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned.” Jesus
(O) I followed the boundaries previously agreed to with my boss.
(I) I realized that my private time is my time to enjoy myself, relax, and not be disturbed with work-related matters.
(C) The character trait that I improved was maintaining control over my personal time by ensuring that urgent work responsibilities are addressed on my terms.

Thank you for sharing your mind with me.

For your continued Success,

Hear MY Secret:

When the lines become blurred with after-hours work communications, strike a balance between work and personal time by resetting everyone’s expectations.

Now RELAX ……CONTROL YOUR MIND….

and ‘Be as you wish to seem’ …..

EMPOWERED!

Remember: It’s the Situation Keeping My Connection with Him.

I’m Lori Stith, The Stoicess,
AND I believe in YOU.