Work/Life Education: Teaching the Art of Being Flexible

I've never thought a whole lot about nursery school until yesterday. I was in an audience with about thirty people listening to a Tibetan Lama in New York City who had not been to the city since the events of September 11th, 2001. He spoke about the resilience of New Yorkers and how the tragedy unified people toward one cause, even for a short time. It was a lesson in sharing peace among people who had lived through chaos, and yet made the time to value quietness and contemplation - likely out of the necessity to stay sane through the pain.

The Lama went on to discuss that our busy lives have overshadowed what we learned in that time. We have forgotten to be quiet and peaceful. In fact, it's not so surprising that we fell off the wagon. We really don't teach peace, the benefits of quiet time and play in school – let alone in our corporate culture. That's what brought nursery school to mind.

Nursery school is a divine few hours of learning social skills, playing with others, taking naps, and creating. There is little structure. The regiment is designed to allow children to explore, and in fact, there is often quiet time. Value is placed on the unanticipated, the unknown, just being so that something genuine emerges from these little lives.

Our 24/7 high tech global market place generally frowns on such non-activity in the workplace. It does not allow for that quiet-time unless we plan for it. The truth is, while more and more companies are making time for worklife balance, and more flexible working practices in the workplace, we have a long way to go.

It's not just enough for corporate America to react to the fears of a tightening job market, employee retention and engagement. Big business needs to pony up and better identify what is working toward integrating our working and home lives and then start teaching these practices.

Employees must be educated the second they walk in the door on worklife balance initiatives and how to take control of their own worklife profile. A nod of approval indicating a more advanced worklife culture which allows for better balance and flexibility is not good enough to hold onto workers who are already stressed and overworked.

Companies need to educate their employees about worklife initiatives. They need to lay a stronger foundation of transparency so that their workers know they are just as free as those kids in nursery school to innovate, create, be heard without retaliation and perhaps even take a nap toward a better worklife experience.