In the October 22, 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Sue Shellenbarger writes:
“Among the hits to families’ budgets lately, many people are taking an added blow: control over their time.
The economic downturn is forcing many to defer dreams of striking a better work-life balance. As past recessions have shown, downturns tend to quash luxuries such as choosing to cut back to part time, dropping out for a while to stay home with the kids, or taking a sabbatical.”
Have you been telling yourself that in these hard economic times you can’t afford NOT to work that 60 hour work week? Are you worried about what your employees will say or your boss will think if you go home before the midnight cleaning crew? Don’t let your work life balance go down the financial drain. Get creative.
Here’s a great time stretching and de-stressing tip from a couple of rocket scientists I work with at Ames Research Center in Palo Alto, California. These two fellows had promised their wives they would do their best to cut back on their 60+ hour work weeks. Like true scientists, they hit upon a previously unseen solution. Instead of commuting to work individually, they now car pool. Each morning they do their daily 30 minute tag up meeting while driving. Each afternoon, instead of meeting in the office for their usual end of the day hour-long debrief, they head home with the car serving as the end of the day office. This small change cut their 60 hour work week to 52.5 hours. An added bonus: they use the buddy system to hold each other accountable. They are happy and their wives are even happier. Good job, guys!