The holiday season has arrived and highly productive people are being asked to take a well-deserved break. The notion of not traveling to your workplace can illicit a variety of unique responses. It is also a perfect time to relax, reflect and revisit the last twelve months of your very busy life.

The tag line for all of Clear Concept Inc.’s multiple development offerings is simply “Work. Life. Transformation.” The notion of work life balance is a curious one, and will be the focus of this month’s blog.

The phrase “Work – Life – Balance” is now becoming so important it is now infiltrating company’s value statements, lobby posters and espoused by senior leaders as an important cultural distinction. The challenge is the attraction of the phrase is often never supported by an actual description of its meaning.

In my 28 years of management experience, the most successful practice of work life balance, has never been defined by an organization, but more importantly it was defined by the employees.

Initiate:
Initiate the conversation of your ideal balance. I worked at a large multinational organization where job sharing was never considered an option…until somebody asked. Two very good female employees who were both young mothers, got together and made a proposal with very detailed language and multiple options. Four months later they were job sharing and no effect on job performance was observed.

Another employee simply asked if they could work from home one day a week. That request transformed a department into the most coveted area of work, as the very smart manger offered that work from home option to many who seemed to thrive and produce in this new model.

Flex:
One of the key success factors with work life balance is the employee’s ability to flex. Remember in this world of unrealistic entitlement, it is your company that is bending to keep your balance. If Tuesdays are an important day of meetings, resist making Tuesday your work at home day. Changing your day with great regularity is a formula for success that allows your work schedule to determine the day you work in track pants.

Routine:
My years as a sales manager provided an important lesson of working from home. As tempting as the laundry, the TV and anything but work is, I was forced to set a very disciplined routine that eventually allowed greater productivity and predictability in my work days from home.

As you wind down your busy year take time for yourself. Relax: You deserve the break. Reflect: Recall what went well this year and what you could have done to eliminate some of your sleepless nights. Finally, Revisit: Define your own ideal balance formula and begin the conversation that might increase your own productivity next year. Nothing is accomplished without an initial conversation, and your manager may surprise you with the openness to your proposal.

Think it through and be prepared to discuss your options for 2015.