I am going to write a very controversial blog that I hope you share with everyone. Let’s be honest, work life balance is a complete myth. Yes I’m saying it right here. Before anyone gets all upset and calls me a family/kid hater and thinks I recommend agencies run like sweatshops, hear me out please.
In order to understand work life balance let’s talk fairly about how the world has changed… dramatically. In the Mad Men days there was smoking, drinking and very few women in the workforce. People communicated by letters and phone calls. There were meetings and life appeared to be simpler than what we are accustomed to now. You went to work, you went home and the wife had dinner on the table with slippers in hand and a stiff drink waiting. Name one household you know that does that today!
So today’s modern work force has email, text message, and social media. One of the common concerns and still one of our best read blogs is how to deal with staff cell phone use and often abuse. Facebook is up at the office and if you look closely many people are having whole personal text message chats during the day and maybe even shopping for shoes or creating the grocery list. In today’s workplace employers get a great amount of paid time stolen from them for personal use.
So then what happens when you ask the team to go the extra mile? Maybe attend a networking event, volunteer on a Saturday or stay late to get the job done. Too often there is far too much push back and the common theme is family or work life balance.
Now let me be clear, I believe in work life balance. One of my team members may leave early to teach a gym class, but they will catch up on work at other times of the day. We even have unlimited vacation days. But the catch is we have to be hitting our goals and the work MUST get done professionally and on time. The world is a different place when we are hitting our goals. The truth is I want my team to see their kids’ basketball games, especially if they put in an extra hour or two to get the job done during the evening hours.
But the challenge is we need to make a choice. Family is very important and I personally am incredibly blessed to have a husband who is as ambitious as I am. We work together to hit our goals. Sometimes this means having to miss a family event or being on the road for a birthday. But we are focused on what we are working towards, not on what small sacrifice was made today.
I grew up in a two income household. I went to daycare and had babysitters. Truth be told my brother and I loved having babysitters – it was a change! My mom was not at all of my dance practices nor my brother’s soccer games. She was a 3rd grade teacher, obviously she can’t leave early with that job. When we got home from school we would call the neighbor or our grandma (not mom) to tell someone we were home safe. My family found ways to make us still feel loved. For example, mom or dad couldn’t make a game, but grandma could and that was just fine with us! It was our normal and we still loved it. It helped teach us great work ethic and that parents can’t be everywhere all the time.
In order to build a book or get that promotion to be team leader, you have to be honest with yourself. What am I doing during the day that is personal related? Be serious! The text messages, emails, online shopping, grocery lists, personal chats add up.
Now if you are a producer, I need to be clear. You need to be working 24/7. I know that some producers are very offended when I say this. Don’t be. When you are in sales you are always presenting yourself to the public. Especially in insurance where almost every person is an opportunity. Your image is incredibly important to the public. Every handshake or introduction is an important opportunity. Here is the thing, when you love what you do…none of this is work.
The most successful producer I know sits at FedEx terminals at 3:30 am to meet his targets. He is away from his family several nights a week. But he is crushing it! Guess what? Two years from now he won’t be doing this, he will be managing a team of people who are absolutely killing it!!
So please don’t take this blog the wrong way. It’s meant to open everyone’s eyes to a real challenge in our industry. Make sure you think about how to make both sides of the equations work.
