If you work remotely some or all of the time, you face some structural barriers to being completely included in organizational culture and professional growth. Your manager can take actions to counteract them, but you can be proactive. Here are a few tips.
My recent post about managing remote or hybrid teams prompted some good conversation. If you want to make sure you're not leaving anyone out, here are a few tips. What has worked for you?
My newest mentor isn’t an elder or a peer.
It’s an entire generation.
Prompted by Ritu Bhasin’s moving post last week, I’ve been reflecting on Gen Z’s reputation for pushing back on workaholism. Anecdotally, they prioritize more balance and well-being. They don’t live to work—or at least they don’t accept that as inevitable.
What if they are right?
Like Ritu, I was groomed working in a law firm led by Boomers and traditionalists. They presented “the right way to work,” and I did what I thought I had to do in order to succeed.
Yet at points in my life I knew that wasn’t working for me. Every time I had a kid, I would try to adjust. I moved in-house to get more regular hours. Being home by six was better than working around the clock. After my second child was born, I started my own practice, so I had more flexibility. But I was still billing at least 50 hours a week. And after the kids went to bed, that laptop was opened up again until I got my work done.
I felt productive…in a way. But if I work around the clock for someone else, when do I take care of my children—or myself?
The Boomers dedicated their lives to their jobs because their jobs returned the favor—with a lifetime of promotions, a community of colleagues, and pensions for retirement. Their salaries covered their families’ expenses, allowing spouses to manage the unpaid labor of child-rearing and housekeeping.
All of that is gone.
So when I hear Gen-Z-ers talk about prioritizing their health and fulfillment alongside their professional contributions, I think to myself, how did they become so wise?
When I was a young associate, no one talked about wellness. Now the SJC in Massachusetts has an active committee on lawyer well-being.
People are recognizing that all this stress is not helpful to us as humans. People are trying to find ways to keep themselves sane.
I admire the new generation for trying to create a new way of working.
What has been your journey with work-life balance? Are you finding ways to create more opportunities for rest or outside activity? And are your organizations supporting this movement—or struggling with it?
.png){kind=logo}