Many write about the need for work-life balance, but nothing affirms its criticality more than a negative health report. Recently, a friend required significant medical treatment, which provided some additional inspiration for this column. The news made me reflect on all that has transpired in my own life and how, despite some incremental improvements, I struggle with consistently managing stress. Multiple volumes of medical records affirm that I am no stranger to the harm neglecting one’s body does to a person.
Prioritization of routine maintenance can never be overstated. It may take time, but it is always less disruptive than corrective procedures. Whether it is one’s health, a vehicle or a piece of equipment, prioritizing check-ups, maintenance and downtime is important. Failure to do so is associated with a litany of unwanted outcomes ranging from major inconvenience to catastrophic failure. Admittedly, this is easier said than done—especially because life rarely goes as planned. In my many interactions with other US military veterans who have also worked in both public and private sectors, it seems that the latter often marginalizes the effect that employees’ personal lives have on their work, which may come by way of inattentiveness, decreased productivity, interpersonal conflict or brand damage. Simply having people in your life who truly care about your overall well-being—including yourself—goes a long way toward improving work-life balance and preventing the aforementioned negative effects from materializing in the workplace. This is increasingly important considering the abundance of remote work, but there are bigger implications for retention and an enterprise’s overall ability to carry out its stated mission.
Despite valiant attempts, it is difficult to account for everything that might possibly go wrong in life or at work. Within project management are three constraints: cost, scope and time. These may be referred to as the project triangle or triple constraint. Of the three, time is both crucial and uncontrollable. Delays, competing priorities and unplanned activities disrupt plans and spill over into time originally allotted for other matters.
Recently, I had the epiphany that, for me, the yearly calendar moves like many of my earlier vehicles’ gas gauges: inconsistently. In my earlier years, it always baffled me why, after filling up these cars, the needle barely moved until nearly a half tank of gas had been used. Once that happened though, the needle seemingly moved steadily toward empty with every mile driven. Each passing year tends to follow this same model: The first half generally starts well and, for all intents and purposes, goes by slowly. But the next thing you know it is autumn, life can feel like utter madness and the minutes seem to slip away at a rapid pace, despite all that needs to be done.
While planning can be an important and necessary tool for smoother project execution, disturbances cannot be entirely prevented. For this reason, strong personal networks are so important to inner peace and overall health. My own work-life balance has been improved by service advisors, medical professionals and my inner circle periodically checking in to see how I am doing or reminding me of check-ups, maintenance or the need to unplug. The connection between work-life balance and the workplace is well-documented and generally correlates to positive attitudes, decreased stress among workers, improved productivity and higher retention.1
Something I miss most about military service is mentorship. Even before the US Navy formalized the program, it was just a part of life for many in the more close-knit military career fields. Though it has now been 9.5 years since I hung up my uniform, I am where I am today because of some excellent leaders who saw something in me I could not. It was also due in large part to the collective success of those I led and mentored throughout the years that I was able to progress through the ranks.
Admittedly, mentorship is easier in uniform than in the workplace because senior, noncommissioned officers primarily function to train and equip their respective workforces. Within enterprises, most anyone with direct reports also has a specific job role, making mentorship something of a collateral duty, albeit a necessity. Despite some claims, one cannot ignore their personal issues and expect to be effective professionally, which is where mentorships can be beneficial. Personal matters such as relationships, health and finances are tangible stressors that impact human capital. Within the greater IT workforce, many enterprises battle retention issues. Mentorships can help solve this problem; they may be formal or informal, but personally, I believe it is most effective left unstructured because I have repeatedly witnessed formal programs make mentorships unnatural, clunky and largely ineffective.
Within enterprises, most anyone with direct reports also has a specific job role, making mentorship something of a collateral duty, albeit a necessity.
A mantra during my uniformed days was “Take care of your people and they will take care of you.” At its core, mentorship ultimately boils down to relationships.
Conclusion
Far too many jobseekers focus on competitive salary and overlook the larger benefits package. I purposefully avoid using the term compensation package because I personally believe it overlooks aspects such as paid time off (PTO), flexible hours, etc. Money will come and go, but time is finite. The ugly truth is that we all have unknown expiration dates, so it makes sense to do all that we can to maintain a work-life balance that suits us individually. Of all the things we can learn in this lifetime, learning yourself, in my humble opinion, offers the highest return on investment. Take the time to recharge. Prioritize your health. Keep in contact with friends, family and others. Look out for one another. Encouragement is a powerful tool. I wish each of you a healthy and happy new year.
Endnotes
1 Kossek, E.; “Why Work-life Balance Is Good for Both Employees and Employers,” Purdue Research, 24 May 2017Jonathan Brandt, CISM, CDPSE, CCISO, CISSP, CPI, CSAP, PMP
Is the director of professional practices and innovation in ISACA’s Content Development and Services department. In this role, he leads information technology, information security and privacy thought leadership initiatives relevant to ISACA’s constituents. He serves ISACA® departments as a subject matter expert on information security and spearheads innovative workforce readiness projects. Brandt is a highly accomplished US Navy veteran with more than 25 years of experience spanning multidisciplinary security, cyberoperations and technical workforce development. Prior to joining ISACA, Brandt was a project manager for classified critical infrastructure projects across the globe.