Career Intensity by David V. Lorenzo, Business Coach and Advisor

February 10, 2007

Regain Your Balance

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Carnival of Career Intensity – Post Four

Jane May presents The Importance of Balance for Work and Home posted at Career Ramblings.

Many people have stressful jobs. Many of them work long hours. Professionals in corporate America have a hard time leaving work at work. The stresses of deadlines, project completions, presentations, and interviews all are contributors as to why people bring work home. Having more time at home to prepare, to finish a chapter, to meet the deadline will solve the problems at work right?

Well, the fact of the matter is, more and more people are taking work home and having it get in the way of their personal lives. Certain jobs, such as portfolio managers, analysts, and investors who rely on the stock market all tend to have such problems. What could some of these problems be? The most common problems are related to stress, including stress induced health problems and insomnia.

I recently read a post entitled Napping at Work. They wrote:

“Nowadays, a “bad day at the office” follows you home and taunts you with incessant bleeps and blinks. It’s no wonder we aren’t getting enough sleep. Employers and employees alike must decide for themselves when their individual work day ends and leave work AT work.”

This is a conscious commitment you will need to make for your self, even if it is a highly stressful occupation that pays very well. You have to ask yourself, is it worth it. Here are some things that may happen if you decide to continue to bring your work home:

Your significant other will feel neglected (this can be boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, cat or dog).
You will lose sleep and go to work tired the next morning
You will not be efficient at work because of your lack of sleep
You may become caffeine addicted to artificially replace the energy 8 hours of sleep would bring
Ulcers may develop
Bags under your eyes (this one alone is why I try and leave work at work)

The bottom line is that you should find a way to have balance in your life. For you to be as efficient as you can at work, you need to be mentally, physically and emotionally charged and ready for the task at hand. The more rest you get, the more productive you will be. Imagine what would happen if you threw in a work out regimen.

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