Sarah McLachlan redefines success in her work life

I went to college with Sarah McLachlan’s haunting voice. Her music and lyrics hit me on a soul level. I had always seen her life as perfect; her work life as one I aspired to emulate. Fame, creativity, the fabulous husband, children, career; all seemed to support the white-picket-fence fairy tale of being a successful modern career woman. Being a singer as a youngster, she was one of my idols. Now she has the nerve to share that she’s not perfect, nor was her work life scenario. Thank god. (sigh of relief)

McLachlan cut to the chase in an interview with Marsha Lederman of The Globe and Mail in her article, I’m Not the Girl I Was. The Grammy award-winner is releasing her new album on Tuesday, Laws of Illusion. Her first original album in seven years. And it’s one that turns her public persona on its ear and delves into some of the hardest times of her life, “the breakdown of her marriage, the desperate attempts to save it, the pain of moving on, and the glory of that too.”

TheRSA.org Rocks The Secret Powers of Time in our Work Life Merge

New rule. Check out TheRSA.org on a weekly basis to keep up with the diverse views, pioneering thoughts, and innovative artistic and business ideas in our 24/7 work life merge. The site is known for its animation commentaries, which are cutting-edge and galvanizing.

The organization, which began in the UK well 250 years ago, takes an enlightened perspective in its mission of social progress. It tackles the social challenges of our time through the voices of some of the most prolific thinkers in history.

“Time” is the focus in this video called The Secret Powers of Time, which features Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University. In this animated video he reveals how our individual perspective on time affects our work, health and well-being. I’ll be writing more about this site and its provocative work in coming blogs. But for now I wanted to share this video as it’s so timely!

Caregiver discrimination might blow the lid off work life balance debate

The Center for Work Life Law released a new report that I believe will blow the lid off the work life balance debate in corporate America.

Corporate chiefs who take a gander at this report might be more inclined to explore flexible working arrangements, consider a shift in their workplace culture, and perhaps lend a more open ear to the needs of workers who are caregivers – or face the consequences of litigation. It might benefit big business to boost its awareness of work life effectiveness initiatives which some companies are taking very seriously. And for good reason.

“Family Responsibilities Discrimination: Litigation Update”

The Center’s report found that employment discrimination cases filed by people [workers] who care for family members has quadrupled over the last decade. These are known as “FRD” cases. The plaintiffs maintained that despite good performance, they were judged by employers who made decisions as to how they would perform, based on personal family challenges. Because of that  judgment, according to the report “They [workers] may be rejected for hire, passed over for promotion, demoted, harassed, or terminated.”

The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, So Let’s Meditate

Heading off the plane last week at La Guardia Airport after a restful few days in Florida, my mind had already begun creating the rundown for the next day. I had meditated on the plane and that’s when I’m at my best. Those moments of shutting down and just allowing the creative juices to flow.

Even at close to midnight, I was ready for action. And then I ran into a billboard for a new book, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working: The Four Forgotten needs that Energize Great Performance. The next day I went out and bought the book. Rare.

The title speaks for itself. I was taken with it because you don’t need a sledge hammer to drive home that message. Our WorkLife Nation is undergoing great transition as is the rest of the planet around the working and living experience.

Your work life on steroids: Technology overload and the “UPED U” Cycle

Our work life experience as human beings on this planet seems like a race against time. How much information can we handle before our brains implode? Notwithstanding my dramatic flair, you have to admit we’re on a collision course with the consequences of “distraction” which likely has long term implications as you’ll read in the New York Times this week.

Hooked on Gagets

The New York Times featured an article by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Matt Richtel entitled, Hooked on Gagets, and Paying a Mental Price in which he covers the mental, psychological, and physical implications of “technology overload.” It’s a great read and dives into some of the effects of your “brain on a computer.”

Scientific research and potential solutions are included in the article and sidebar stories. For example, don’t check your e-mail every two seconds, don’t text and drive, limit your news sources etc. But in order to find the solution that’s right for you, in my opinion, you have to determine where you fall short in what I refer to as the “UPED U Cycle” which I have been teaching about in my lecture series “Practical Chaos” for the last decade.

Nurturing employees’ work life balance in a meaningful workplace

After two years in the military, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky left to pursue a career as a writer. His writing was known for capturing the torment and happiness of the human soul and he also had strong opinions regarding work.

“Deprived of meaningful work, men and women lose their reason for existence; they go stark, raving mad.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

We certainly work a lot and while most of us have not gone off the deep end, we’re certainly struggling as a society to better balance our work life and strive for more meaning at work.  How many of us truly embrace work as vocation? It’s a question rarely asked. And if employees and corporate chiefs started thinking of ways to provide a canvas for more meaningful workplaces – would it impact productivity?