Defining work-life balance
When starting out a job in a subsequent career we seldom give thought to striking a work-life balance.
Eager to put in a good performance and going the extra mile comes with making a lot of sacrifices.
The cost of which manifests in different ways from poor health to dwindling social connections.
Sooner rather than later, striking the ideal work-life balance takes centre stage.
Is it possible to find a job and career path that could have the work-life balance you’ve always desired?
Easier said than done
The short answer is no. Over the years, I’ve found it relatively difficult to find a job I truly love.
It’s even more challenging for people with a general business interest as they do not specialise in a single trade.
The key is to act swiftly. But what’s stopping you from making a career switch?
Three potential reasons
- My dream job doesn’t pay enough, or I will simply never get a look in from employers.
- Change is hard and quite scary.
- I have no idea what I want to do in life, if I can do anything, what on earth should I do?
All of these assume big change. Maybe a new career involves relocating cities, or perhaps countries, adjusting lifestyles, and spending power. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
No one should ever feel the pressure to seek a vocation at a young age.
My daughter is 18 years old, and I loathe how many of her friends are feeling huge amounts of pressure to seek the right career.
We have just recovered from a pandemic, there’s plenty of time to figure out your calling in life.
Take a step back…
I’ve worked for some of the biggest corporates that include the likes of Forrester, Giga Information Group, and Gartner.
The latter most being my final stint in a large conglomerate before I started the HiveMind Network.
Hivemind is my eleventh business, and I’ve always worked in IT and the digital services industries.
I’ve spent my whole career moving between start-ups and large IT services such as Gartner.
It’s important for us, in any sort of career, to feel comfortable. I disagree with the concept of striking a good work-life balance. Hear me out.
It is imperative to stop and ask ourselves the level of anxiety we feel in our jobs. Several people feel the ‘Sunday anxiety’ a sense of nervousness when you wake up on a Sunday morning anticipating a stressful week ahead.
These feelings usually induce a negative vibe which ruin the end of a weekend. It’s particularly exasperating when you have a young family or have just moved to a new city.
I made a list of every job I’ve held and scored them against the dreaded ‘Sunday anxiety’. It turns out, my most enjoyable employment had little to do with my work.
The best professional journeys were often down the people I worked with.
It is, therefore, imperative to foster a positive environment around the people you feel most productive around.
That’s when you can truly forge professional journeys that transcend companies and countries, some call it synergies. It’s best described as forming a network.
Establishing trust leads to a departure from the traditional, monolithic, and siloed business model that is not efficient today.
Spend time on the meaningful professional relationships, keep hold of them and nurture them.
This is relevant to the inception of the HiveMind Network. Dave Clark, Ian Carroll, Andy Simmonds, along with a few others, make up the founding team that banded together to start the company.
Our aim as HiveMind was to leverage the power of digital to increase the efficiency of small and medium enterprises.
There are thousands of people in every field who are bright and highly skilled at their jobs.
What we should look for, and cultivate, is our professional network of skilled individuals.
I’ve stopped looking for a good work-life balance. Instead, I look forward to spending time with great minds who love what they do, regardless of the sector or field they operate in.
Sure, you are not absolved of stress, and that’s a given. But being around great people makes it worthwhile.
It can’t always only be about the people though. In conclusion, work-life balance is a skewed concept, there are other ways of achieving a satisfying lifestyle.
Love what you do, more importantly, love the people you work with.
Lyndon Docherty, Chief Executive, HiveMind Network
Lyndon is the founder and CEO of the global transformation and consulting network, HiveMind, founded in 2014.
HiveMind supports organisations ranging from top FTSE 50 corporations through to mid-tier enterprises.
Lyndon comments from a strategic position on the importance of people despite businesses adopting more digital practices.
Lyndon argues that people are still, and will always be, at the heart of every business.
