To avoid being handed a lump of coal this holiday season, employers and employees alike should be mindful of their work-life balance. Specifically, respecting the fine line between personal life and work life. As the calendar year draws to a close, a lot happens in both our personal and professional lives.
We’re all familiar with Black Friday – the Friday after Thanksgiving traditionally earmarked for crazed shoppers prowling the aisles of big box stores for bargains. Cyber Monday (the Monday following Thanksgiving) has become almost as much a part of our cultural tradition with thousands of shoppers flocking on-line to take advantage of low prices online.
In 2005 the New York Times noted that, “millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked.” Wait a minute, using high speed internet connections at work, for shopping? This isn’t that new a phenomena, actually. March Madness has long marked a certain madness amongst employers who typically see a dip in productivity during key games as employees keep an eye on up to the moment scores and coverage.
Many employers trust their employees to balance personal interests with work demands, cruising the net while on a break or lunch for instance. Others have opted to adopt strict technology policies or limit website or internet access altogether in response to perceived abuses. In general, it’s much easier to establish policies, communicate them well in advance of issues and continue to educate folks on guidelines, rather than attempting to manage after the fact through discipline, although there will be situations where an employer is left with no other choice.
The coal can just as easily be in the employer’s stocking though as the holidays approach and the year draws to a close. Many companies have a year end sales rush, close process or financial goal that can result in an uptick in overtime and long hours spent on the job for employees. The image of narrow-eyed Mr. Scrooge yelling at poor Bob Cratchit to “get back to work!” isn’t one many employers would chose for themselves.
Year end is a busy season both personally and professionally and should be recognized as such. Those employers who do will allow a little bit of merrymaking and be the better for it. If both employer and employee observe and respect work-life balance, the coal industry might be the only one to have concern in the month ahead!
