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Can you learn to "do" your job and not "be" your job?
Abstract March 1, / Q U E S T I O N: I've been a worka-holic
all my life. Recently a friend had a heart attack, and I realized that
maybe there is more to life than the corporate grind. But I still need
to work. Any advice?
A N S W E R: Have you heard about Japanese "convenience agencies"? According to the News of the Weird , these businesses provide actors to play the part of family members or friends at parties. And they take their jobs seriously. At one wedding each "friend" was given a thorough biography of everything they needed to know to mingle successfully. One agency even provided fake college students at a professor's lectures to keep his spirits high. Unfortunately, outside of Japan, friends and family are not always easy to come by. So it's important to keep the ones you have (rather than spending all your time and energy at work). I've listed some strategies below for you to do a better job of integrating your work with your life. For more, check out Robert Cooper's book The Other 90 Percent (Three Rivers Press, 2002). Work-a-holics 'R' Us Can you learn to "do" your job and not "be" your job? Here is my simple test: Next time you introduce yourself at a party, listen to what you say. Is it all work-related? Sure work is important, but it's also important to have a life away from it. Hobbies, your family, volunteer work, etc. will not only improve your perspective and self-esteem, ironically they can also help you to do an even better job back at work. Are you willing to trade less pressure for less cash? A friend of mine was a hotshot computer consultant. She did some soul searching and decided that she wanted less work pressure in her life. Now she works at a pizza place and says she's never been happier. Can you share something upbeat from your day? OK, I accept that the right to complain about your job is right up there with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But you've got to be careful not to have your family and friends become a toxic waste dump for everything that is bad about your job. Try to find the good stuff that happened in your day, even if it's just that you figured out what the mystery meat was at lunch in the cafeteria. Focusing on the positive with others might even help to lift your own spirits. Can you get your job done in the time allotted to do it? One woman wrote to me saying that she would often stay late at work. She then got married and wanted to get home after eight hours and not 10. She looked at her day and saw a lot of places where she could be more efficient. This doesn't apply to all people or jobs, but it does show that at least some of our stress is of our own creation. Even though "convenience agencies" exist, it's probably more convenient to just keep the family that you've got. Online Ballot and Contest Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCNEWS.com online ballot: Which statement best describes the résumés you've seen? Pure pulp fiction, 7.3 percent It's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but, 19.3 percent Not exactly a lie, but … 73.3 percent Winning Strategy Our winning strategy for getting a life comes from T.T. in Los Angeles.: "I don't think that anyone can afford to get a life right now. With all the layoffs and anxiety, I think this is a time when you just have to suck it up and work awful hard. And don't ever stop networking. Times are tough. That is unless your last name is Gates. The way I look at it, I'll have plenty of time to rest later on. Now, I've got to get back to work." List of the Week How not to get a job — the five worst ways to hunt for work: --> Chief Forecasting Officer: CFOs vs. your take on the economy CFO's 50 percent confident vs. Fortune.com users: 37.8 percent confident CFO's 50 percent worried vs. Fortune.com users: 63.8 percent worried Source: Fortune.com Bob Rosner is the author of the Wall Street Journal business best seller,
The Boss's Survival Guide (McGraw Hill, 2001), a speaker, and founder
of the award-winning workingwounded.com & RetentionEvangelist.com. E-mail
him at bob@RetentionEvangelist.com.
Source: ABCNEWS.com publishes a new Working Wounded column every Friday. Please patronize our many sponsors, affiliates and advertisers today so that we may bring you more advanced services tomorrow. Have you seen the great deals from top brand name manufacturers?
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