Doing Words

Seven steps to finding the dream job and work/life balance

// November 4th, 2009 // Work

Miles Campbell, founder of TTA.edu.au and I like to discuss the big issues, whether over a beer at our regular Pub Night talk fest, at events like Interesting South, or often when we’re meant to be watching the kids and making sure they don’t fall off the swings. Miles is far too busy thinking big thoughts to have time to blog, though not too busy to email me when an idea occurs to him (yes, I’ve tried explaining that blogging can be just as quick as emailing but he’s so old skool.)

The following post, on finding a healthy work/life balance and how to recognise one when you find it, is essentially one of Miles’ emails, slightly edited by me. Over to you, Miles…

To be well, most of us should work for the following reasons:

1. The stabilising routine it adds to life;
2. The sense of accomplishment it gives us;
3. The community it provides us with;
4. The sense of identity it provides us;
5. The amount of the week that it distracts us; and
6. Finally, the money it provides us.

The optimum job, in my opinion, has the following characteristics:

1. It should take up about 30-40 hours a week (including commuting time).  This should drop to 20-30 hours a week if you have children under 10.
2. It should be close to home.  Ideally walking distance
3. You should enjoy the community that you work in.
4. You should do work where at least 60% of your time is spent doing something that you are good at
5. You should look forward to a day of work
6. Work should be the right mix of challenge and mastery depending on your personality.
7. You should work hard

It seems to me that most people in our society either work too much or too little. For many of those who work too much, I am convinced that they could achieve the same outcomes in much fewer hours. Work generally expands to fill the time available. I believe that most people do between four and six hours a day of effective work.  If a work culture exists whereby people arrive at 8am and don’t leave till 6pm, then they will stuff around and be inefficient, and hold unnecessarily long meetings etc. to kill time until they can go home. Once you are away from home for more than eight hours a day, then the rest of life will be a compromise. Exercise, friendships, marriages, parenting, hobbies, sleep, household maintenance, celebrations, socialising etc will all be compromised. If you are on a salary, then it can be almost impossible to work sensible hours, as you must toe the line.

For those who work too little, it’s generally either because they have young children, or they are retired, or can’t find a job. Though this can be nice for a while, I think there is a danger that in the long run, the loss of all those things that work provides can make it difficult to maintain well being.  I think a lot of mothers (and a few dads) get caught out because they look to parenting to provide their work needs, but whereas a great career has long term prospects, parenting suddenly dumps you when the children become independent.  You then have to start again which can be hard.  Having said that, it’s not like most families have many options.  Our workplaces are built around most people working 45 – 50 hour weeks with another 10 hours of commuting on top.  This means that someone generally has to bail from their job once kids come along.

“I’m spending money I don’t have, to buy things I don’t need, to impress people I don’t like.”

Some people work too much, earn heaps of money and then retire, therefore working too little.  I think that people will generally survive this and make the best of it, but I don’t think it’s ideal.  It is a common cause of depression.  I think that it’s much better if people can work a sensible amount until they can no longer work.

I also believe that most people don’t walk their own talk.  Most people will tell you that money isn’t going to make them happy, but they don’t live that way.  Most people end up sacrificing huge amounts of what they claim is important in order to earn more money.  What’s that great line?… “I’m spending money I don’t have, to buy things I don’t need, to impress people I don’t like.”  I think that beneath this is our survival instinct.  We have an irrepressible instinct to gather resources.  We live with constant anxiety that we won’t have financial security, which drives us to work more and more.  Then kicks in our instinct to consume (for the pleasure hit) and to keep up with the jones’s (fear of rejection from the group).

The risks of working too much are far greater than the risks of not earning enough.

I often coach myself through this anxiety with statements along the lines of “What is the likely outcome of me not earning enough money to maintain my current lifestyle?”.  When you are able to rationally think it through you realise that you could quite easily cut down spending, or move to a smaller house or move to a cheaper city.  No one starves in Australia.  When you look rationally at what are the most likely negative outcomes in your life, they are far more likely to be the result of working too much than from earning too little.  In saying this I am assuming that working too much is taking it’s toll on relationships, friendships and your mental health.  This kind of stuff can then lead to unhappy marriages (or divorce), loneliness, anxiety, substance abuse, health problems (due to stress, poor eating and lack of exercise).  So I think that the risks of working too much are far greater than the risks of not earning enough.  I also think that for a lot of guys, that working hard is a simple way to justify their lives.  Keeping everything balanced is complicated, whereas an obsessive work life can be quite simple, and if there are the added benefits of doing a job that you are good at, and you are well rewarded, and you seem to be important in that domain, it’s a way to have some sense of meaning and control in a nice simple formula.

here endeth the rant.

cheers
miles