“No matter what your job, having homegrown children means putting family relationships first”, a quote by Dr. Kevin Leman in his book – Home Court Advantage. You may feel indispensable to your work, and supervisors may support this mindset: a mindset not necessarily shared at home. This doesn’t only apply to your children but to your spouse as well. Is there any business more important than your family’s business? Isn’t life short, and aren’t kids only kids for a short time?
Older generations will say it’s an expectation in corporate America but younger generations aren’t tolerating it any longer. Older people will say it is a part of what you HAVE to do, it’s expected and it’s the only way to get ahead. Younger people will say they want more out of life – those with kids, those who have significant others or those who might even be single. They want a balance and it’s harder for older generations to understand because to them the balance is not in the same proportion.
The American workplace is changing and it’s moving in the direction of the younger people. It’s moving in their direction because they are becoming a greater and greater percentage of the workforce – whether they’re in management or not. In fact, these concepts are not that foreign to our cousins in Europe. They’ve been supporting an emphasis on this greater balance for a lot longer. We need to look no further than the amount of time off that they are granted as the norm.
Younger people are making quitting time an absolute. Would you show up to work late? Then why show up to your home late? Leave work at work. And if you must take work home, resolve to attend to issues only after your last child is in bed or your spouse is occupied with something else. If not these relationships will suffer, maybe not short-term but long-term. Children need their parents at all ages and spouses grow apart and separate. And if your job is so stressful that you can’t keep a decent schedule or avoid coming home wiped out, perhaps it’s time to look for another job? The choice is yours.
"While it takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone, it takes a lifetime to forget someone". – Anonymous