All Work and No Play: Managing the Work-Life Balance

In this economy, you’re probably tempted to work extra hours to ensure that your business survives. However, many believe the “quality over quantity” mantra is just as important as ever.

“Stress management is the number one problem that small-business owners face in their careers,” says Dianne Crampton, founder of TIGERS Success Stories Series Inc., a small business corporation specializing in team culture development, based in Bend, Ore., and author of Melting Your Stress Within 30 Days, an e-book on stress management. “If they don’t keep their life in balance, and they focus all their attention on work, some devastating things can happen.”

You might think you’re benefiting your business by putting in all that extra time, but Crampton says an overstressed mind will result in poor interactions with customers and employees. This doesn’t mean you should take a month-long vacation when your business is under strain, but striking a balance with your professional and personal lives is crucial.

Make you your number one priority
It’s probably something you’ve heard a thousand times, and you’ve vowed to put it into practice—until other things came up and demanded your attention. Scheduling time for you sometimes takes a formal approach. Tom Miller, owner and founder of T.R. Miller Co. Inc., a small recognition and promotional products company based in Walpole, Mass., says that he sets aside specific time blocks on his calendar for personal activities, such as going to the gym.

“I do things I enjoy to stay in the positive frame of mind,” he says. “The individual is important, and a more productive person is a happy and well-rounded individual.”

Susan Cucuzza, founder of Live Forward LLC, a professional coaching and development firm based in Cleveland, says not to feel guilty about taking time for yourself rather than devoting it all to your family, friends and employees. They will benefit from dealing with a more grounded person.

“Give yourself a reserve of time and energy,” she says. “It requires discipline.”

Know the boundaries
Make sure when you take a vacation, it’s mental as well as physical; it’s not really time away if you’re checking your phone every five minutes.

“Train your employees so that they’re able to take care of the business while you’re away,” says Crampton. Make sure your employees know they should contact you only if there’s an emergency.

But also understand that emergencies sometimes require one’s work and personal life to overlap. Running a family business, Miller says he offers flexibility to his employees when needed. For example, he’s trained his team so that if someone has to leave at a moment’s notice, co-workers support them and cover any necessary tasks.

Miller says having his own priorities straight has helped him run a better company. “My business has been a vehicle to bring in income to provide for my family,” says Miller, who adds that he always made sure he could attend all of his sons’ sporting events.  

“You need to be able to focus on the things that are really important to you,” he says.

“There’s a source of strength that comes from your family and friends. I’m not effective if I’m stressed out, anxious and worried.”

Encourage the work-life balance in your employees
Miller thinks interaction with your employees should go beyond the workplace, such as celebrating birthdays or even simply asking them about their personal life on a regular basis. He says doing so allows him to evaluate his employees’ performance more effectively.

“I don’t think you can react properly to situations that come up at work without knowing what’s going on in the work environment and the home environment,” he says.

Miller says that by owning a small business he has the benefit of not having stockholders and a board of directors controlling his decisions, so he has authority over the type of environment he wants to promote at work.

There are a variety of creative ways to show that you value your workers. Cucuzza recommends offering a floating holiday or the ability to work from home one day a week. She says if you have the funds, consider establishing a daycare program or something simpler, such as a “bring your child to work” day every once in a while. For an employee who is on the road a lot, provide the family grocery-shopping or lawn-care services. But a great way to figure out what would help employees maintain a balance is simply to ask them because a fulfilled team leads to better focus, fewer errors, increased productivity and more profit. And Crampton believes a company that considers how it can make life easier for its employees is going to be the one people want to stay with.

“It creates a sense of community at work, as opposed to ‘I’m the boss, you’re not,’” says Crampton. “People realize: ‘I’m getting my needs met here.’”