Never Need to Know: a Work-Life Balance

A new LinkedIn post takes a refreshing look at achieving a work-life balance for working parents. The article has been shared all over social media begging the question: does your office need to know?

The New York Times reported that more and more couples are choosing to have smaller families due to economic factors. Let’s face it: kids are expensive. Most families have to balance wages with the exorbitant cost of childcare.

And that doesn’t even begin to look at finding harmony between your career and your family.  In a recent post on LinkedIn, Ian Sohn, a single father and president of Wunderman Chicago, takes a clever and honest look at creating a work-life balance, a juggling act many of us know all too well.

“You should never apologize for having a life.”

The post was a list of things this Chicago-based boss ‘never needs to know’ about his employees, including:

• I never need to know you’ll be back online after dinner.
• I never need to know that you’re working from home today because you simply need the silence.
• I never need to know why you chose to watch season 1 of “Arrested Development” (for the 4th time) on your flight to LA instead of answering emails.
• I never need to know you’ll be in late because of a dentist appointment. Or that you’re leaving early for your kid’s soccer game.
• I never need to know why you can’t travel on a Sunday.
• I never need to know why you don’t want to have dinner with me when I’m in your town on a Tuesday night.

The sentiments of Sohn’s post hit home with a lot of working parents — the post has almost 2,000 comments to date. So why does this list ring true for so many working mothers and fathers?

“Like any modern business … there’s an additional need to respect other people’s lives and environment you work in, and everyone is accountable for getting their job done,” says Sohn in USA Today.

As businesses have become more digital, the ability to do you work remotely has increased. Ask any employee who works remotely, and they’re very likely to tell you that working from home makes them happier and more productive. And they aren’t necessarily wrong. There’s certainly evidence to suggest that with today’s technology, there’s essentially no downside to working from home, and it does often enhance productivity.

Here at Fronetics, we believe, much like Sohn, in the balance between work and home life. As individuals, we strive to excel at our jobs through accountability. Have a doctor’s appointment? Need to attend a school performance? We don’t need to know.

Has your office implemented policies to encourage flexibility? Has it been successful?

Related posts:

• 6 Reasons Your Supply Chain Employees are Looking for New Jobs
• Working from Home is Transforming Business Culture
• France’s Radical Workplace Idea: No Emails at Home