Workplace Wtf Is Work-Life Balance?

[ms-whitney]

Yep

Double yep but,
I think it depends where you work and the times.
Ironically enough when I was downtown and my manager had to contact me outside of work times he apologized profusely and, they would never ever interrupt me during lunch unless there is an epic meltdown of some sort and certainly wouldn't schedule me past 8hrs unless clearing with me first

Now in this suburbia location I have a "supervisor" that talks smack about people who wouldn't take their lunch in the back to me, because they are short staffed

Who wouldn't hesitate to interrupt me during my lunch

Who would schedule me to work past 8 hrs without consulting me

And they change the schedule on whim

Not to mention this location takes minimum, 1 hr back and 1 hr forth..sometimes 2 hrs making the commute, plus my work schedule, basically it.

I have no life (yay savings..well partial, I then shop a little)

But seriously it's getting to a point where I'm at wits end, I have had multiple talks with my manager regarding this, and long story short, won't bore with details,

 

[tiggycat]

Thanks, you all make me feel like my situation isn't so bad.

A couple of years ago we went to the legal requirement of a half hour lunch (only break during the 8 hour day except for bathroom visits) - we can have an hour if we work longer to make up the time, but... I can leave at 4:30 and get home at 5:15 or leave at 5:00 and get home at 6:45 or 7:00 due to the vagaries of my commute. Eight hour day used to be 7 hours of work and 1 hour lunch, now 7 1/2 hours work and 1/2 hour lunch (no increase in pay).

If we eat at 5:15-5:30 we are fine, but much of a delay from that gives both me and my husband incapacitating migraines killing the entire rest of our evening. I'd rather have the hour lunch and eat on the train on the way home to stave off my own migraines, but he won't just go ahead and eat because it's important to him to have a family dinner. He gets home two hours before me and cooks and the plates hit the table before I get my coat off!

So I do the half hour lunch so we can both have some sort of home life (race to the food court, grab whatever garbage has the shortest line, swallow it whole, race back to work) - but... nothing to do for at least half an hour because everyone I need to ask questions of is still at lunch, plus I have heartburn for the rest of the day. Even my doctor noticed the difference - my blood pressure and weight are way up since this new policy took effect with no change to my habits except not having time to relax, eat a healthy lunch and have a little time to power walk around the mall.

My company prides itself on its awesome work-life balance and is trying for a 'best employer's employee engagement rating'. I'm so glad i don't work for one who doesn't care about it's employees!

 

[Jesssh]

^^^ Have you thought about bringing your lunch and some healthy snacks to munch on during the day so you don't have to rush to the food court? Maybe then you could eat and take a 5-10 minute walk to relax or grab a coffee to get you through the afternoon.

If your evening meal is healthy, lunch could be more like a big healthy snack. You could make your breakfasts healthy by making them ahead of time and there wouldn't be as much pressure to have a big lunch.

Just an idea.

 

[ms-whitney]

^ I would think she has 1-2 hr of commute in morning if the commute afterwards is 2 hrs. that's like getting up at 5/6 and out of house by 7 to get to work at 8.. so than you get home like 6:45/7pm and it's dinner, than off to bed if you want to get the minimum 8 hrs of sleep

and who are we kidding, no one really gets 8 hr of sleep right?

I know I get an average of 6 hrs and I consider myself lucky.

I guess some people are just really good at multitasking or have bundles and bundles of energy even after work cos I can't really have much time to do everything I need, much less have the time to get snacks for work..it's just easier to buy while I'm there

and maybe just the idea of getting out and doing something small like buying my lunch..provides a break of feeling like I'm consistently working which is a bit depressing when you think about it.

to spend the majority of your time working

and commuting..2 hrs minimum a day multiplied by five is ten hours a week, about 40 hrs a month and 500 hours a year (give or take your vaca and holidays)

 

[jellyv]

Some people have the luxury of building their lives just how they want to, and many, many people do not. I've been fortunate in being able to see work as work, for income and rewards of other kinds, but not as my life. In my experience, the people who are all about their work (not speaking of self employment) are somewhat delusional, like those engaging in a one-way romance. What they don't truly take to heart is that corporate America does not return that love. I've known people with seniority who live and die by their (former) Blackberries and now other devices issued by work, and these true believers nevertheless get clipped like anyone else at layoff time.

My advice is always to be an integrated person who is connected to people and to a place. Fit work into that, however it must happen.

 

[guccimamma]

i quit my job after kids, i couldn't see a way to make it work. thankfully my husband has remained employed...and it worked out to be the best for our family.

 

[Shopaholicmania]

Seriously I do not think work life balance works....

Not enough time and plenty to be done....

I think one need to sacrifice something in order to make things work; e.g. quitting the job to look after kids while they are still young, mothers will likely not regretting this as they are able to witness the growing process of their kids which money can't buy and the development of mother-child bonding

 

[L etoile]

I don't think work-like balance exists. I work 9 hours (including commute), get home, sit for 30 minutes, have a snack, go running (sometimes), make dinner, shower, catch up on emails, go to bed. DH and I do the housework together and we work out together. Otherwise, we would never see each other. I take as much vacation time from work as possible and I usually travel for about 50% of that time. The other 50%, I do things around the house that need to be done. I don't get manicures, pedicures, massages. I rarely even get my hair cut. My job consumes most of my energy during the day. Even if I'm able to leave a little early, there's little energy left in me to do something "fun".

 

[ms-whitney]

^your work life balance is already better than mine

looking for another job as I'm typing this

I already dislike commuting (easily an eleven hour, sometimes 12-13) but they won't let me transfer..says I should be happy and flattered they wanna keep me but than they won't accomodate me so that my schedule is early morning, so I can beat traffic on the metro going to work and of course, be on it when I leave before the usual rush hour (silly but it does occur on the trains)

That was the main focal point for me and I'm given grief because I bring it up twice within the last 2 years I've been there so I'm stick a fork in me done

 

[L etoile]

^your work life balance is already better than mine

looking for another job as I'm typing this

I already dislike commuting (easily an eleven hour, sometimes 12-13) but they won't let me transfer..says I should be happy and flattered they wanna keep me but than they won't accomodate me so that my schedule is early morning, so I can beat traffic on the metro going to work and of course, be on it when I leave before the usual rush hour (silly but it does occur on the trains)

That was the main focal point for me and I'm given grief because I bring it up twice within the last 2 years I've been there so I'm stick a fork in me done

Commuting is the worst. I only spend 1.5 hours commuting per day and I hate it. I have stopped taking lunch so that I could leave earlier. I live in the city, but my job is at the edge of the city limit.

 

[ap.]

I don't think work-like balance exists. I work 9 hours (including commute), get home, sit for 30 minutes, have a snack, go running (sometimes), make dinner, shower, catch up on emails, go to bed. DH and I do the housework together and we work out together. Otherwise, we would never see each other. I take as much vacation time from work as possible and I usually travel for about 50% of that time. The other 50%, I do things around the house that need to be done. I don't get manicures, pedicures, massages. I rarely even get my hair cut. My job consumes most of my energy during the day. Even if I'm able to leave a little early, there's little energy left in me to do something "fun".

you only work 9 hours/day and you're complaining about work-life balance?!

 

[L etoile]

you only work 9 hours/day and you're complaining about work-life balance?!

LOL, on a GOOD day. I'm a physician so I often take overnight call and work weekends. My "light" days are 9 hours but I can't seem to make it work with that, either.

I usually get 1 day off per week (but can still be on home call). I long for a full weekend!

Edit to add: I think anyone that works any amount of hours could have issues with work-life balance. You saying that "only working 9 hours/day" is nothing to complain about is like me saying that you can't complain until you do a 30-hour overnight medicine shift. Even a 4-hour day with other responsibilities can be hard to balance for some people. Also, we can't disconnect when we get home anymore. I can't remember the last time that my phone DIDN'T ring regarding work or my patients on my day off. I can't remember the last time I took a vacation without checking results or coordinating something for my patients.

 

[ap.]

LOL, on a GOOD day. I'm a physician so I often take overnight call and work weekends. My "light" days are 9 hours but I can't seem to make it work with that, either.

I usually get 1 day off per week (but can still be on home call). I long for a full weekend!

Edit to add: I think anyone that works any amount of hours could have issues with work-life balance. You saying that "only working 9 hours/day" is nothing to complain about is like me saying that you can't complain until you do a 30-hour overnight medicine shift. Even a 4-hour day with other responsibilities can be hard to balance for some people. Also, we can't disconnect when we get home anymore. I can't remember the last time that my phone DIDN'T ring regarding work or my patients on my day off. I can't remember the last time I took a vacation without checking results or coordinating something for my patients.

Eight hours/day or 40 hours/week is a normal requirement for most full-time job, whereas a 30-hour overnight shift is not. So yeah, someone complaining about working 7.5 hours/day or 9 hours with commute sounds a bit daft to me. And someone complaining about their 4-hour workday would sound even crazier if they did not detail their other responsibilities (just as you did not).

Now learning that you basically don't stop working after leaving your place of work is a completely different story.

BTW, I've often enough pulled an overnighter and then some at work so I know the feeling.

 

[Jesssh]

LOL, on a GOOD day. I'm a physician so I often take overnight call and work weekends. My "light" days are 9 hours but I can't seem to make it work with that, either.

I usually get 1 day off per week (but can still be on home call). I long for a full weekend!

Edit to add: I think anyone that works any amount of hours could have issues with work-life balance. You saying that "only working 9 hours/day" is nothing to complain about is like me saying that you can't complain until you do a 30-hour overnight medicine shift. Even a 4-hour day with other responsibilities can be hard to balance for some people. Also, we can't disconnect when we get home anymore. I can't remember the last time that my phone DIDN'T ring regarding work or my patients on my day off. I can't remember the last time I took a vacation without checking results or coordinating something for my patients.

As a potential patient, it concerns me that physicians don't get enough rest or balance.

This keeps me away from doctors, honestly. Good judgment requires that people have opportunities to recharge.

I also wonder when they have time to keep up on new studies and treatments. This is why I research my own problems.

The physician culture of "work till you drop" makes no sense to me as a patient. Maybe I watched too much of Grey's Anatomy.

 

[jyyanks]

Work/life balance is tough. I work 8:30-6:00 but have a 3 hour commute (1.5 hours each way). I also am on call so am answering emails into the evening and on weekends and if something goes wrong, need to be available until things are fixed.

I usually leave me house at 7 and get home at 7:30, sometimes later if there are client events which are usually every other week in which case I get home around 11pm. I Travel about 40% of the time.

How do I balance? It's not easy and I'm not sure how balanced it is but this is what I do.

I have 2 kids and I try to spend every weekend doing something with the family. We take 3 family vacations, one in winter, 2 in the summer and I usually take a week off between Xmas and new year for some R&R with the family.

Workouts are at 9pm when the kids go to sleep and I usually work out for 30 minutes at home 2x/week though I've been slacking. I do set aside 1-2 hours a week for a spin class at a local spin studio.

Errands are done during lunch hour and near my job. I squeeze in haircuts, dr's appointments, pedicures, banking during lunch. I don't always get the full hour of lunch so errands are usually scheduled in advance.

Down time is usually 10:30-11:30 pm when I'm done exercising, showering, taking care of the kids etc. Phone calls and reading are squeezed in during my morning and afternoon commute on he train and when I'm walking to work.

I'm blessed that I have family close by so if something comes up with my kids during the daytime, they can help as it takes me awhile to get home.

Balance isn't easy but I do the best I can as I'm sure most of us do.