Work / Life Matters
by Dr. Joanne G. Sujansky, CSP

Are you trying to change something that’s unchangeable? If everything seems to be working against you these days, maybe it’s time to sit down and think about life for a little while. What is it that you are struggling against? Is it something you can change? If not, why are you struggling against it? Are you wasting your time and energy? Is what you are doing worthy of your time and energy? Effort to change something can bring about wonderful results, but only if the thing you are trying to change is appropriate. Contemplate the words of Jimmy Dean: “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

Complain with meaning
According to Leif Hokanson, of Personal Best Consulting, you shouldn’t waste your breath complain­ing about something to someone who can’t help you solve whatever has got your goat. Hokanson, says it pays to be a pragmatic complainer. He says that com­plaining to someone about something he or she can’t remedy is “akin to yelling at the rain.” The pragmatic thing to do? Find the person in charge of the sprinkler system—and ask him or her to turn the thing off.

Do you need 15 extra days a year to get your work done?
If you always feel harried and harassed to get every­thing done in your life, think about getting up an hour earlier every day. By getting up just one hour earlier every day for a year, you will add 15 entire days to your life to get things done, according to Leif Hokanson of Personal Best Consulting.

Are you educated—really?
Do you consider yourself an educated person? We’re not talking about where you went to school or how many Jeopardy answers you can come up with. We’re not even talking about everything you’ve learned from your experiences in the world. What we’re asking is are you educated? Do you know what you do and don’t know? That is the true definition of an educated per­son. Being educated means this: First, you recognize and admit what you don’t know and what you need to know. Once you have admitted to yourself and the world that you don’t know something, the next piece of being educated is knowing where and how to get what you need. Once you’ve got everything you need, the real trick is knowing how to use what you’ve gone out and gathered up. William Feather seemed to have got­ten this right when he defined education this way: “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you need to know; and it’s knowing how to use the information you get.”

Study says one in five workers will leave jobs this year in search of balance
A recent KEYGroup® research study found that 18 per­cent of workers plan to leave their jobs in 2006 to establish a better work-life balance.

Dr. Joanne G. Sujansky says that workers are ready to go shopping for new jobs if they feel their work lives are overpowering their personal lives. Sujansky says that of the 1,700 workers surveyed, almost one in five had plans to look for a new job—specifically because of the “balance issue.”

Sujansky says she sees the survey results as an early warning sign of huge turnover to come in the United States work force. She says it seems even more signifi­cant that employees are planning to leave employers during a period of economic uncertainty—and that difficult times are causing them to assess whether working for a company that is stressing them out all the time and is unfulfilling is just not the way they’re willing to go in their lives. Sujansky recommends treat­ing employees like whole people who have important lives outside of work. Then you will likely have a work force that is grateful and loyal—not fleeing to look for something better.

About the Author:
Dr. Joanne Sujansky, CSP, has over 25 years of experience helping leaders increase organizational growth and profitability by creating and sustaining what she calls a “vibrant entrepreneurial organization.”  She is an international keynote speaker, founder of KEYGroup® and the author of numerous books on leadership, change and retention.  A member of the National Speakers Association, she holds their highest earned designation, Certified Speaking Professional.  Reach her at 724-942-7900 or at www.joannesujansky.com.

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