In my corporate days, no one left the office before their boss did. If a recent article in the Wall Street Journal by work and family columnist Sue Shellenbarger is any indication, nothing much has changed since I left the corporate world for academia. The article titled, When the Boss Works Long Hours, Must We All?, offers tips for people with workaholic bosses. However, it doesn’t provide advice to workaholic bosses.
Let’s start with a basic assumption—it’s bad to be a workaholic boss. If you need evidence, do a quick Internet search on “workaholic bosses.” My search resulted in over three million hits. People are desperately looking for help in dealing with workaholic bosses. Since I was one, I feel comfortable offering a bit of advice based on personal experience.
Examine Your Goals and Priorities
If you are, or suspect that you are a workaholic, take time to reflect on your personal and professional priorities and goals. Ask yourself what you want to achieve from both perspectives, and then ask yourself if you are using your time appropriately.
Have a Plan
Once you know what is important to you, come up with a plan and prioritize your time. Having gone through this exercise, I realized I had been neglecting my personal goals. Rebalancing life meant getting out of the office sooner, at the risk of damaging my hard-working professional image. My plan, motivated by a love of learning and a goal of personal growth, led me to work on my MBA. Classes were typically held in the evening so I had a very legitimate, business-related reason for leaving the office by 5:00 p.m.
Launch your own learning plan: Ph.D./D.B.A. program in values-driven leadership for executives
With the MBA behind me, I needed another plan to support my personal growth goal and to help ensure I wouldn’t slip back into my old ways. Enter Hans. “Hans” is the nickname my colleagues and friends gave to my personal trainer—his real name is Rob. Hans and Franz were characters in a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch called, Pumping Up with Hans and Franz. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:00 p.m. people would say, “It’s almost Hans time, you better get going!” We had a lot of fun with the “Hans” thing, but more importantly, I realized that leaving earlier made it safe for my people to leave earlier too. As a result, we all came to work renewed and energized.
Help People Examine their Goals and Priorities
Great bosses give people the flexibility they need to balance personal and work life. Find out what’s important to them by helping them examine their goals and priorities. Consider making this a key part of your development conversations.
Help People Achieve Their Goals
Work with people to achieve their personal, professional, and financial goals. The Center for Values-Driven Leadership is currently involved in a 3-year research partnership with the Small Giants Community called Return on Values. A key learning from our research is that helping people achieve their goals is good for workers and for the company—in a quantifiable way. Following this philosophy, one company in our study cut employee turnover in half, experienced double-digital bottom line growth, and is experiencing a 98% customer retention rate. Seems like a pretty good approach.
Make it Okay
If you are inclined to work late, realize the impact you may be having on your team. Check in with them at the normal end of day and make it okay from them to leave before you.
If you have any advice for the workaholic boss, we would love to hear from you.
________
Dr. Marie E. Di Virgilio is the Administrative Director for the Center for Values-Driven Leadership. She brings over 30 years of business experience, much of it with Allstate Insurance Company, holding key leadership positions in sales, human resources, accounting, corporate education, and information technology. As a Center core faculty member, Dr. Di Virgilio anchors courses in leading change and developing organization, and leadership and corporate social responsibility.