Your Job vs. Your Life's Work
When people talk about going to “work”, they're usually referring to their job. But we recognize that a person’s job is only one part of the work they do each day. While our job takes up the bulk of our waking hours, we still have numerous other responsibilities and things we would like to do. Unfortunately, the "work" of taking care of ourselves usually gets relegated to the bottom of the work pile and is often neglected altogether.
While some people are fortunate enough to have a “dream” job that allows them to get paid to pursue a personal passion, most of us don’t. Instead, our job is mainly a means for making enough money to get what we need, want, and like. While most of us certainly care about doing our job effectively and efficiently, it is not our only priority. When we begin to fall behind on meeting our other priorities, we often blame it on our job consuming so much of our time and energy.
We all wish to live our lives as if we don't have a job, while it often seems like our employers want us to do our job as if we don't have a life outside of work.
The traditional “9 to 5” style workday at the office is still the standard for most white-collar jobs. However, research is showing that many workers are struggling in this environment and are looking for other ways to effectively do their job while taking better care of themselves and their other priorities. Forward-looking companies are beginning to recognize the value of offering their employees some flexibility in the time and the place in which their work gets done. These Blended Working strategies open the door to new ways of thinking about how, when, and where we might be most effective at doing our jobs.