by Mary Lloyd, CEO, Mining Silver
Assuming retirement is the only way to get balance in our lives is silly. But achieving balance while employed fulltime takes some effort—and courage. Would your life be better if your work was shaped differently?
Some basic questions:
Does what you do have to be done during regular work hours? The “9 to 5” job is essential when the next guy is adding a bolt to the assemblage you just worked on. It was also best when the fastest way to share information was to stop at the desk of the coworker you needed to talk to. But today’s “product” is often information and the quickest way to get it to someone else is electronically–even if you’re sitting next to him.
If you work with information, you might well be able to do it just as well in the middle of the night. If what you do is independent of what others do for the majority of the process, when you get it done might be negotiable—as long as you know how to do it.
Does your work have to be done at the Company’s physical location? Working at home is far more productive for many employees. Some companies have reduced the amount of space they lease for doing business by using this strategy. Both Company and individual worker can benefit big time with telecommuting arrangements if they are carefully crafted. What would you lose by working off site? What would the Company gain?
Is it essential to work for someone else? Yes, you need a paycheck, but lots of people do very well pursuing them as freelancers and contract employees. Being your own boss gives you the most flexibility for meshing work with the rest of your life.
But there are risks. If you think working for yourself is the answer, do your homework. What’s the market for what you want to do, who will hire you, will that kind of work go on indefinitely, etc.
If you decide to go for it, there’s set-up work to be done to get it right. Success hinges on the following, at a minimum:
• Prove to your boss that you are productive without constant supervision. You have to be a “self-starter” to be able to not work at the office. From this day on, get things done without asking unnecessary questions, calling avoidable meetings, and otherwise wasting time—yours and others’. Get on with the task before someone checks to see if you are working on it. (Waiting to start until a supervisor—or the person who needs it—asks how far you are on a project will imprison you in that cubicle forever.)
Work smarter. Get hints from the “old pros.” Don’t spend work time on non-work activities (personal phone calls, texting, online games, social sites). How can your boss trust you to work at home if you’re playing solitaire every time she walks by your desk?
• Be incredibly good at what you do. Learn your craft and develop an in-depth knowledge base. Learn the interpersonal territory well, too–be it as a sales person, a supervisor, or a troubleshooter. Become aware of how well you are doing the job relative to others at your company and beyond. Strive to excel. Do this before you utter one word about working from home or with unconventional hours.
Being really good at what you is prime job insurance. It’s also going to be your ace when you start talking to your boss about a different way to work.
• Design your nontraditional strategy so that improves your quality of life rather than just complicating it. Everyone else is still going to be working the old way. Set boundaries so their inefficiencies and interruptions don’t invade the time you’ve opened up for other things.
Be accommodating on legitimate requests. But get proficient at saying “no” to the people who want you to do their jobs because you know more than they do. (This is the one negative of being good at what you do.)
If we come out of the cave on how we design work, we can make huge progress on reducing the stress of work. For the time being, it’s going to be up to courageous individuals to lead the way. If you are up for the challenge, it just might make “retirement” irrelevant for you—because you will love your life the way it already is.
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This post originally appeared as an article in the August edition of Barbara Morris’s online newsletter Put Old on Hold.