WEBVTT - Flexibility matters more than hours

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's tip is that when it comes to work life balance,

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<v Speaker 2>flexibility matters more than ours.

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<v Speaker 1>Being able to move.

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<v Speaker 2>Work around on dimensions of time and place means you

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<v Speaker 2>can work quite a few hours and still feel like

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<v Speaker 2>you have a full personal life too. So here's a

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<v Speaker 2>question to ponder. Let's say something interesting or cool in

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<v Speaker 2>your personal life was happening at eleven am on a Wednesday.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe your elementary school age child is a performing in

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<v Speaker 2>a school talent show. Or if you don't have kids,

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<v Speaker 2>let's say it's your niece or your godson, but it

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<v Speaker 2>is something very important.

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<v Speaker 1>To the child. Would you be able to go? Would

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<v Speaker 1>it be easy? If it weren't particularly easy, how much

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<v Speaker 1>notice would you need? You will quickly see that the

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<v Speaker 1>answer to this question doesn't necessarily depend on how many

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<v Speaker 1>hours you work. Maybe you are a medical professional who

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<v Speaker 1>works part time. Let's say three eight hour days per week,

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<v Speaker 1>but you are normally doing patient procedures on Wednesdays, and

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<v Speaker 1>these are scheduled three months ahead of time, so you

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<v Speaker 1>really can't move them except for extreme emergencies. If the

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<v Speaker 1>talent show came to your attention three weeks ahead of time,

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<v Speaker 1>you probably wouldn't go. On the other hand, maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>are a consultant who travels a lot and logs fifty

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<v Speaker 1>plus hour work weeks, but you tend to decide where

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<v Speaker 1>and when you are going on any given day, whether

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<v Speaker 1>that is to visit a client, to work in your office,

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<v Speaker 1>or work at home. Unless the CEO of your biggest

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<v Speaker 1>client has asked for eleven am on that Wednesday, you

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<v Speaker 1>could probably make it work. That scenario describes my husband,

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<v Speaker 1>so he recently went to a special person's tea at

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<v Speaker 1>our four year old's preschool at eleven am on a Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>and then got on a train to go to Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>d C. For a meeting immediately afterwards. In other words,

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<v Speaker 1>it is possible that someone working part time hours wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>be able to go to something, but someone working more

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<v Speaker 1>than full time hours would. It just depends on how

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<v Speaker 1>much flexibility you have. This is important to realize because

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most common questions I get from people

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<v Speaker 1>who are trying to make work and life fit together

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<v Speaker 1>is whether they should go part time. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>have to work, set out in a set place.

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<v Speaker 2>Going part time might not help as much as you want,

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<v Speaker 2>because the things you want to do won't always happen

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<v Speaker 2>during the hours that you are not working. Whereas, if

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<v Speaker 2>you can set your hours and work from home when

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<v Speaker 2>it makes sense to do so, you can work quite

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<v Speaker 2>a few hours and still be able to do things

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<v Speaker 2>during the traditional work day if you wish, that can

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<v Speaker 2>make work at life balance just feel far more possible.

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<v Speaker 2>There have been some studies finding that this distinction is

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<v Speaker 2>true and does affect how people feel about work in life.

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<v Speaker 2>Many years ago, before COVID made remote work a more

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<v Speaker 2>common choice, there was a study done of a group

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<v Speaker 2>of tech workers. Those who had to be in the

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<v Speaker 2>office at certain times could only work thirty eight hours

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<v Speaker 2>a week before a significant chunk of them experienced work

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<v Speaker 2>life conflict. For those who could set their own hours

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<v Speaker 2>and work from home when they wish to, that breakpoint

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<v Speaker 2>was fifty seven hours a week before a significant chunk

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<v Speaker 2>experienced work life conflict. In case you are doing the math,

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<v Speaker 2>fifty seven hours is fifty percent more hours than thirty

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<v Speaker 2>eight hours. We are talking an absolutely huge difference. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>the point of the Before Breakfast podcast is to give

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<v Speaker 2>useful tips you can put into your life, and I

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<v Speaker 2>am not sure that this tip can immediately be put

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<v Speaker 2>into practice. If your work involves being in a certain

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<v Speaker 2>place at a certain time, then that is what it is.

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<v Speaker 2>But if you are considering a new job, getting clear

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<v Speaker 2>on how flexible it is might be a more important

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<v Speaker 2>form of doute than seeing how many hours you will

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<v Speaker 2>be logging. You might also consider jobs that seem to

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<v Speaker 2>require longer hours but are very flexible. Ask if people

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<v Speaker 2>regularly work from home, or if you are considering going

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<v Speaker 2>part time in order to deal with complexities in your

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<v Speaker 2>personal life. See if your organization might be open to

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<v Speaker 2>your working far more flexibly instead. They might be happier

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<v Speaker 2>to have that option than to see you work less,

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<v Speaker 2>or you could find another organization that is more open

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<v Speaker 2>to your talents. But in any case, these days there

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<v Speaker 2>are a lot of full time and more than full

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<v Speaker 2>time jobs where it is possible to do things in

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<v Speaker 2>your personal life during the traditional work day. You might

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<v Speaker 2>be able to make the pieces of work and life

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<v Speaker 2>fit together better than you thought, so it's worth thinking

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<v Speaker 2>about in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 2>and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 2>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 2>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 2>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 2>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 2>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.