Coming off of another interview with a senior executive today and he said something that struck me.
“We are encouraging our employees to examine the balance they have between work and the rest of their lives”, he said.
Back in 1991 I was interviewing for a job with OppenheimerFunds as a wholesaler in the 8 Western states. The then Senior Vice President of the distributor, Jim, met me at a hotel in Marina Del Rey, CA. He asked me if I was ready for the commitment that it takes to be a wholesaler for the company.
“Yes”, I eagerly replied, “I am”.
Jim then said something that has stuck with me since he asked it: “You know that we own you Monday through Friday, right?” he verified.
In retrospect, and having repeated that story many times over the years, I am grateful for his candor. He did paint an accurate picture of the time and energy required for that profession.
He left out the part that the job also owned you on Saturday and Sunday.
Of course none of us are indentured servants to our employers. It is true however that Type A folks tend to go overboard on the commitment to work thing.
Could it be that one of the outcomes of the Great Meltdown of 2008 (GM2008) is that we are allowed to get our lives back? Said another way, will we still feel guilty for doing some of the things that ‘normal’ 9-5 folks do?
Simple, important things like go to the kids soccer match, take the wife to a movie during the week or see non work friends on a weekday night?
If this is one of the outcomes of GM2008, I’m all in.
If our employers are on board, hot damn – even better!
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