Are You a Workaholic?

By Barbara Bartlein

Justin, a thirty-five year old executive at a high-pressure investment firm works 60 to 70 hours per week. Even on vacation, he often slips away from the rest of the family to go online, check messages, and answer phone calls. Until recently, he saw nothing abnormal about his behavior; in fact, everyone at his job works like that. In the North America, we value work. Americans labour longer hours than workers in any other industrialized nation. In fact, in Western Europe, Americans are viewed as a “nation of workaholics.”

According to a 1998 study by the Families and Work Institute in New York, the average American now works 44 hours of work per week, which represents an increase of 3.5 hours since 1977. This is far more than the workers in France (39 hours per week) and Germany (40). According to a new report from the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO), “Workers in the United States are putting in more hours than anyone else in the industrialized world.”

The ILO statistics show that in 2000, the average American worked almost one more week of work than the year before; working an average of 1,978 hours – up from 1,942 hours in 1990. Americans now work longer hours than Canadian, Japanese, or Australian workers.

What are we working for? It’s not vacations. The typical American worker has an average of two weeks of vacation as compared to four to six weeks for their European counterparts.

For happiness? According to regular surveys by the National Opinion Research Centre of the University of Chicago, no more Americans report they are “very happy” now than in 1957, despite near doubling in personal consumption expenditures. Indeed, the world’s people have consumed as many goods and services since 1950 as all previous generations put together, yet report that they are not any happier.

There are many costs in working so hard. People tend to cut back on sleep and time with their families. A recent survey found that almost a third of people working more than 48 hours a week said that exhaustion was affecting married life. Nearly a third admitted that work-related tiredness was causing their sex life to suffer, and 14% reported a loss of or reduced sex drive. They also complained that long hours and overwork led to arguments and tensions at home. Two out of five people working more than 48 hours a week blamed long hours for disagreements and said they felt guilty at not pulling their weight with domestic chores.

So how do you know if your job has turned into workaholic habits? Here are some of the warning signs:

• Your home is organized just like another office.
  
• Colleagues describe you as hard working, needing to win, and overly committed.
  
• You keep “technology tethers” like cell phones, pagers, and laptops with you all times, even on vacations.
  
• Friends either don’t call anymore, or you quickly get off the phone when they do call. Sleep seems like a waste of time.
  
• Work problems circle in your mind, even during time off. Work makes you happier than any other aspect of your life.
  
• People who love you complain about the hours you work and beg you to take some time off.

If you experience some of these warning signs on a regular basis, it may be time to re-evaluate how you are handling work in your life. For ideas on how to break the workaholic lifestyle, read Unchain Your Desk: The Five Secrets for Breaking Workaholic Habits.

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Barbara Bartlein is the PeoplePro™. She helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953, by email at: barb@barbbartlein.com or visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com.

Published in Networking Today, April 2002.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

By Debora S. Ferraz

STEPPING OUT OF THE SAFE ZONE

Any thing, idea, or issue could be interpreted in many different ways depending on how we define the situation. Creative ideas can evolve in the seemingly unconnected.

Why do more management teams not approach effective leadership with this attitude? The most common reason is we allow ourselves to be enslaved by familiarity. We play by the safe rules and dare not step out of the “safe zone” for fear of losing control. The following vignette exemplifies the dynamic leader: someone who is willing to look beyond traditional problem solving and opens the door to explore different possibilities.

On one occasion during my adventures in Management Consulting, a senior executive requested my assistance in resolving an ongoing problem of team participation at company meetings. They found that staff neglected to attend departmental meetings and the ones who did attend, seemed disenchanted by the prospect of yet another meaningless meeting.

CLOSED DOOR, CLOSED MIND…UNPRODUCTIVE MEETING SYNDROME

It was this company's policy to have departmental meetings once a week followed by management meetings later that week. Departmental meetings were chaired by the department head who reported on the week’s progress in the customary defined process of relating the week's departmental sales results, overall company statistics for the week, and the projected goals for the following week. Added to that were management’s comments of their perceived departmental problems, which needed to be addressed and resolved and their interpretation of what must be done to eradicate the perceived problem. The meeting then evolved around this manager's ideas for “fixing” the problem.

I glanced around the room to see if there was any interest whatsoever at challenging this manager's self-directed theories. What I saw was a group of bored, disinterested personnel who were either doodling or staring blankly around the room waiting for this meeting to end.

Believe it or not, this same process was exercised by other managers at several of the meetings I had the unfortunate task of attending. What's wrong with this picture? The problem was management's policy of problem solving by the book and not training staff to recognize, report, and/or respond to opportunities. What is the difference between these two scenarios? The problem solver will typically focus on fixing what is broken. The opportunity-seeker takes it one step further by asking, "how can I take advantage of the ambiguity in this situation by trying something new” or “what do I see that I did not focus attention on before?”

WAKE UP TO THE WONDERS OF EMPOWERMENT

The more often we condition our leaders to do something the same way, the more difficult it is for them to think of doing it differently. By encouraging your leaders to take advantage of the resources around them, namely their team members, you begin to empower your team players. Also, by getting more diversified input, especially from the trenches, you're getting data that’s fresh and unfiltered for management’s ears and ego. There’s greater potential for turning a negative situation into a positive and harmonious solution.

To this end, I called a management meeting and suggested I work with the managers in creating an agenda and a new approach to the upcoming departmental meetings. This pilot project called for me taking the place of the departmental manager and the manager, now part of the team, actively participating at the next meeting.

I asked each manager to meet with me with their notes for the upcoming meeting and we developed an "invitation to participate" agenda that was forwarded to all team members. This invitation clearly addressed the problems and goals. Each member was asked to come prepared to tackle the problems by looking for possible opportunities that could be implemented with positive results. We also asked that teams work together to exchange ideas to accomplish this goal. The manager was asked to work with his team as a team player in this exercise and not a leader. I thought this approach would help mend some fences and would also teach the manager the importance of learning from his team by empowering them to share ideas and offer solutions. In other words, I wanted the manager to learn to see things from a different perspective.

RECOGNIZING THE KNOCK OF OPPORTUNITY

The next few days I spent observing the managers at work with their teams and the sight was positive. Creative juices were flowing incessantly and there was a tangible feeling of goodwill all around. Managers (and employees) felt good knowing their peers had faith in them to listen and accept what they had to say. Then by using humour to break down the icy barriers, the manager was able to create a happy environment for those creative juices to flow. I even had staff come up to me and excitedly announce their exuberance at looking forward to the next meeting. The managers had redeemed the respect and trust they earned by believing in their staff instead of imposing an order governed by cultural assumptions. In short, they dared to step out of the "safe zone" and the result was amazing.

SHARING OPPORTUNITIES TO STRENGHTEN LINKS

Now for the last step: I invited senior management to attend each departmental meeting simply to observe the results and hopefully adopt the same attitude for their management meetings. Needless to say, what they saw was a well-oiled machine working at full capacity – a motivated team headed by a fearless leader who achieved results by entertaining new ideas and guiding his team through a successful and meaningful meeting.

NO SMALL LINKS, ONLY SMALL MINDS

I once attended an unforgettable meeting at a company whose culture was based on empowering staff. This was a departmental meeting headed by the Director of Human Resources. The Human Resource Department encompassed a number of areas such as the Mailroom staff, Employee Relations, Benefits, etc. The meeting always opened and ended with a group motivational cheer. This served to put everyone in a relaxed discussion mode. As the Director read the results, he always followed with a well-deserved acknowledgement of the person or people responsible for attaining the results. There were never “problems” to be discussed but instead, "opportunities" for improvements, which were then thrown out to the group for their input.

The most vivid meeting memory is the continued support ventured by the mailroom staff. I was totally impressed by how knowledgeable they were about goings on both in and out of the company. The Director always knew he could count on the mailroom staff to offer insight into customer feedback; observations made by them benefited the company as a whole. There was no ego-tripping in this meeting just ordinary people doing extraordinary things and achieving great results. Every person in the room was treated with respect and the added bonus was a productive and fun meeting.

As a consultant, whenever I tell this story to other company management, I invariably get the rhetorical comment of, "now what could a mail person possibly bring to a management meeting, after all he/she is last on the totem pole, so to speak."

A manager, whose mind has been opened, when passing a mail person in his or her company, will more likely stop and acknowledge this employee for who he is and what he truly represents. Hopefully, decision-makers will always remember, "nothing evades our attention quite so persistently as that which we take for granted." (Roger Von Oech)

Debora Ferraz is a well-known seminar speaker, corporate trainer, and management consultant with AIM Corporate Training Solutions. Debora can be reached at aimcorporate@sympatico.ca.

Published in Networking Today, April 2002.

Unchain Your Desk:The Five Secrets for Breaking Workaholic Habits

By Barbara Bartlein

Rick Fischer knew his work was becoming a problem when a neighbour congratulated him on his daughter’s success at a soccer game and he knew nothing about it.

Janet Stockman questioned her work habits when she was diagnosed with hypertension after giving up exercise due to “lack of time.”

Whatever the trigger, more and more North Americans are evaluating their lives, careers, and the costs of overwork. The Baby Boomers are questioning whether the American dream truly means accumulating more things or more titles. Many are coming to the decision that they would rather have additional time with family than another bonus or promotion.

If you are looking for ways to regain control of your work habits, here are five secrets that will help:

• Break the overtime habit. Overtime, especially at a salaried position, should be a rare occurrence, not an everyday expectation. It is well known that we tend to expand work to fit the time allowed. Johnny Carson once noted, “If you have a whole week to produce a show, it takes a whole week. If you only have one day, it will take one day.” A short burst of overtime (a few days to a week) can be extremely productive. But productivity actually decreases with a long bout of overtime due to fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and carelessness. Practice the Bermuda Syndrome; i.e., make each day as productive as the one before you leave on vacation.
  
  
• Train your boss. Do you know people at the office that always leave at a reasonable hour? This is because they have trained their boss. They have made it clear this is what they have to do. Whether because of children or other family responsibilities, they consistently leave after 8½ hours. (By the way, that’s what your pay is based on.) Let your boss know that you are committed to get the job done and done well but will not try to impress her with dramatic exhaustion.
  
  
• Turn off the “technology tethers.” Unless you are a transplant surgeon expecting a kidney to arrive on the next helicopter, there is very little reason to be perpetually on call. Most phone calls are routine and can be answered at your convenience. Don’t give out your cell phone number. Let people leave messages for you to answer later, then carve out an hour or two each day to return phone calls. Avoid faxes, e-mails, and work related phone calls after hours. And unless it is absolutely necessary, make it clear that you do not answer phone calls while on vacation.
  
  
• Help the company reduce the risk of failure. Overworked, tired employees make mistakes. They risk destroying credibility with external and internal customers because the job is not done right or they miss important deadlines. Keeping the workload realistic promotes success. Remember, under promise and over deliver and your customers and work teams will always be pleased.
  
  
• Buy family time. Yes, there are disadvantages to these approaches. Your lack of overtime may be viewed as lack of commitment to the company. But the tradeoff is more time with the family and time is a non-renewable resource. It is simply the price of a saner lifestyle with your time spent in the areas you view most important. Jobs come and go. You can’t replace your family.
  

Friday, February 22nd was the second annual National Slacker’s Day. Organizers said the aim of National Slacker Day 2 was to remind people that life does not revolve around the office. A day spent in bed or in front of the television can improve health and happiness. The official mandate to celebrate the day? Do Nothing! Actually, maybe this group is onto something.

Sign up for Barbara's FREE email newsletter at www.barbbartlein.com.

Barbara Bartlein is the PeoplePro™. She helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953, by email at: barb@barbbartlein.com or visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com.

Published in Networking Today, April 2002.