Redefining work life success in a “New Economy”

Written on April 19, 2010 by in work life balance

Trolling the blogs while preparing to drive back from the Hamptons shore Sunday, I was inspired by Christine Livingston’s (@coblyn) post, Why New Work Pioneers Really Bother. Immediately, I slowed down my pace to enjoy a better (as @CaliYost says) “work life fit” for the afternoon. Christine wrote about things like joy, contentment, mindfulness and gratitude being important to these “New Work” pioneers, and I couldn’t agree more. Afterall, I’m one of them.

A different kind of work

I was introduced to Christine’s blog, A Different Kind of Work by blogging consultant Michael Martine (@remarkablogger) just a few months ago and I was thrilled to find a kindred spirit in Christine.  This day, she reminded me why I launched my own blog nearly three years ago,  Judy Martin’s WorkLifeNation.com: to cover the stories, pioneers and organizations that are fostering Success, Serenity and Significance in our 24/7 world – our “new economy.”

The universal nudge

Christine’s post was the nudge from the universe to heed my own philosophy on Sunday morning. There was no need to dart out the door of this magnificent home, to prep for my client. The creating could easily happen by the beach and at my leisure – because of technology.  (I am a Mac girl) The atmosphere was rich with fresh sea air which got my creative juices flowing and infused me with joy. I was content to sit, work and take in the roses – in between the spreadsheets. Precisely the tone of Christine’s post as she wrote about New Work Pioneers:

“Yes, they want more control over their lives. Yes, they want to do more of what they love, inside and outside of work, more on their terms……It’s the wish to have not just a professionally successful career, but also to have a well-lived life…..In short, they want to give themselves the pleasure of being wholly alive.”

New work/vocation

Back in December I posted on how we’re redefining success ( Redefining your career, business or personal success in a chaotic world ) based on an inner need or wisdom to be part of something much bigger than ourselves within our career trajectory, to be more passionate about life and to seek a more productive and peaceful work life merge. Likening this type of work to “vocation” is not a stretch, especially with the increasing popularity of the Encore Career community. Giving back,while making a profit and loving the work you’re doing.

Beachside success

I was loving working near the beach Sunday. It fueled my spirit. I completed a brief for my client, and then allowed downtime for meditation and breath work. I say  “downtime,” but to clarify, I’m talking about a quickly scheduled respite in this case. Although my work life fit includes longer periods of “downtime” in the form of recharging and contemplation, today called for a moment of pause and even a quick nap.

Is  “downtime” detrimental to success?

In a post at TheMammaBee blog, @TheMamaBee has somewhat of a different take on this as she wrote in her post, Workplace Prioritizing:What is “Urgent?”

“For me, improving finding peace in my professional and family life isn’t about downtiming, or even taking time for moments of peace throughout the day.  It’s about a consistently pleasant and rational work environment.”

TheMamaBee illustrated the concerns of working in this new economy with increasing demands and the need for better work life design, as she offered stories from working moms:

“Neither of these friends want to down-time — if anything, they are intensely ambitious individuals who want to climb further up the corporate ladder.  They don’t need to slow down, per se.  But they would be much happier if their companies could better prioritize; not every hiccup should be an urgent request…”

That need for instant gratification and expectation, especially in corporate America (which is now a cog in the competitive wheel of globalization)  is likely here to stay. That’s why prioritizing workload and burning the midnight oil often plays a pivotal role in success. But I don’t think “overwork” is the answer to the dilemma of performing in a business world that changes in an instant. I’m certainly not knocking hard work, but I would never mistake my “downtime” for taking a chill from the game.

Merriam-Webster defines “downtime” as “time during which production is stopped especially during setup for an operation or when making repairs.” A car can’t run on fumes, nor can the human body. The mind gets frazzled with information overload if not managed.  That’s why I’m a believer that stopping and refueling are necessary for growth. Inner and outer expansion on our career journey.

Taking a chill

Meditative practices and Yoga bring me into a state of calm for the moment and in fact have played into my definition of success. Producing quality work in a 24/7 high-tech global marketplace with success, serenity and significance. These practices build on the inner core of quiet that I’ve been working on for years, as I’ve transitioned and thrived in our new economy. The warehouse of calm is like an internal fuel pump that carries me throughout my day, and is especially useful when consulting with business executives on their stress reduction and work life merge.

Work Life Success

Every Monday here at WorkLifeNation.com, we’ll be talking about how we’re redefining work life success. What does it look like?  Is work life success the journey toward work life balance? Is your “success” defined by the “success” of your personal brand and voice in a way that’s impacting those around you? Are you defining your success at the work life intersection with better flexible working practices? How are your working toward a better work life merge in your workplace or business? Please take a breath and chime in.

8 Comments - Leave a comment!
  • http://www.alidavies.com Ali Davies

    I also read Christine’s blog post that you refer to. The important nail that it hit on the head for me is that the tide of success being about “things” is well and truly turning. The pioneers that she refers to, I believe, are defining success more on how they feel – happy, content, fulfilled, at peace etc. The key is to have a success definition designed by ourselves. If not, whose definition of success are we living by?

    • http://www.judymartinspeaks.com Judy Martin

      Ali,
      YOU hit the nail on the head, “one size doesn’t fit all.” In a world that is flipping us on our ears in a moment, we can only live successfully by taking charge of our own work life response. But – many of us fall within the dictates of the corporate experience and that makes it more difficult to adapt to the wheels of industry that demand more for less. My hope is that if we can take control of that little part of our inner world – it can somewhat help us get through the demands put on us by others. And if we make enough noise about how companies need to wake up as @TheMamaBee sugessted in her post, perhaps some will start to listen.

  • http://www.adifferentkindofwork.com Christine Livingston

    Judy,

    Thanks so much for including me in this article. It’s terrific to be part of a group of kindred spirits who are daring to challenge the status quo on the whole experience of work.

    To me, work has traditionally required a bit of mind vs emotions split. We’ve been expected to “do the professional thing” which has often meant making heart-breaking choices. Sadly, so many people have been so numbed that they’ve cut themselves off from the emotional side of things. Meantime others in their own way, using their own language to describe it, are deciding that they don’t want to be marginalised from the very things that make them human.

    So often in business the corporations lead the thinking. I suspect that this is one area where people will lead the thinking and hopefully businesses will slowly understand and adapt their practices to meet the needs of a new kind of workforce.

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  • http://cuberules.com Scot Herrick

    In today’s competitive environment, companies don’t care about your job, career or success. They simply want your job skills to help them succeed in reaching their business goals. And that’s OK.

    The New Work Pioneers accept this and stop trying to satisfy a corporation that can’t be satisfied. They are the Cubicle Warriors that build their success based on their needs that corporations can fulfill. They flip the assumption that we must support companies to one where companies need to support us in our work so we are satisfied.

    The employment world has changed. We need to change right along with it. Getting to the essence of the New Work Pioneer is a great start.

    • http://www.judymartinspeaks.com Judy Martin

      Hi Scott,
      Love the idea of the Cubicle Warriors! I do think we need to change along with the world, but big in general is so lagging behind in exalting the human component. Not sure what it’s going to take for people to wake up – an engaged happy employee is going to be a higher producer. Someone needs to do the math, sharing it in a way that will catch the attention of the c-suite. Not sure why the studies already done by some amazing research institutes is being ignored. Thanks for visiting.

  • http://www.patrickjohnmccrann.com Patrick

    This is great stuff, thanks all for sharing. I think that the change will be more of a groundswell approach, where smaller companies (aka 37signals) can create great products and/or experiences with a small team on a reasonable schedule, and be very successful. Workers will choose where they want to spend their time, and hopefully redefine the situation. IOW waiting for corporate to “get it” will only result in a corporate solution — think “take your cubicle home” type stuff. Thoughts?

    • http://www.judymartinspeaks.com Judy Martin

      Patrick, I agree. I don’t think it’s gonna be a top down approach except for progressive companies. While there are a handful in the Fortune 500, i think the majority of companies will have to feel some kind of pain before they budge on changing the workplace. For now the corporate solution appears to be in the form of perks in the HR department. It doesn’t appear that workplace flexibility, reduced hours, job sharing, and better sick leave will be part of the solution except in companies that really get the long term benefits and have the vision to better embrace their human capital.

      It unfortunately falls upon workers to be more progressive, to suggest their best work life fit and bring that cubicle home, but that’s only going to happen in companies that allow their employees to have a voice without retribution.