Facebook COO Leaves Work at 5:30?!

I did a double-take when I first read it!  A COO in the heart of Silicon Valley leaving work at 5:30 every day?!  Were pigs flying?  Was this the 7th sign?  Had hell frozen over?

It is VERY refreshing to see a prominent employee, especially one who works for a tech company no less, taking back her life.  I especially liked the way Sheryl emphasized this is something for men too, not just women.  Maybe one-by-one, we will begin to see more people doing the same.  It would be nice to begin to see the pendulum swinging in the other direction towards a more balanced life.

*** UPDATE:  I've seen a few more articles on this "big news."  Sooooooo sad that it's considered worthy of media coverage.  Here's a link to CNN's article:  http://bit.ly/I092nR

Bring Back the 40-hour Work Week

In a very detailed article, Sara Robinson of AlterNet presents many compelling points to bring back the 40-hour work week.  150 years of research proves that long hours at work kill profits, productivity and employees.  I totally agree with the point that most managers use a single, warped, easy-to-chart metric to measure passion:  a willingness to spend your entire life at work.

Entrepreneur vs. Work-Life Balance

Decent article in the WSJ about entrepreneurs' personal time getting the short shrift.  Some good points and some scary ones in the article.  I always say it's about setting expectations and boundaries.  If you don't, you can end up like two people in this story... one skipped a friend's wedding and another gained 30 pounds!  I really like the last line... "When you make time for yourself to be healthy, your business will thrive.  It's not a sacrifice.  It's a shift in attitude."  Well said. 

Flipping the Switch When You Leave Work

The Wharton School has an interesting article about employees "flipping the switch" when they leave work.  Many questions abound.  Can they?  Will they?  Should they?  Are they? 

Work-Life Balance Advice That Makes Sense

Over the years, I've read a bunch of articles that claimed to be about work-life balance, but were really all about time management techniques.  True work-life balance is very different.  In this 10-minute TEDTalk, Nigel Marsh does a fantastic job getting to the core issues of work-life balance.  This may be the best synopsis I've ever heard in trying to gain true work-life balance.  Well worth the listen.

Work-Life Balance. It's Really about Choices.

Work-life balance is not easy.  It's not a myth either.  What it really boils down to is choices.  Just like anything in life, your choices define your past, present, and future.  You own your life.  How you set priorities for your life will dictate how your work-life situation will look. 

Anne Egros depicts this process of prioritization through the Wheel of Life.  I love this visualization.  Plus, my car wouldn't make it a mile down the road if my tires were in the same shape as my Wheel of Life!

Humor: Top 7 Reasons to Leave Work by 5:00

Since our culture currently overemphasizes the amount of time we should spend at work, it's unlikely you can openly say "I'm leaving work now because I want to enjoy the other areas of my life."  So here's a list of some other options to get out the door by 5:00! 

1.  I HAVE to leave now in order to beat traffic.  (Be careful, the boss may counter with "You're better off staying until 6:30. You won't have to deal with traffic then and you'll probably get home around the same time.")

2.  I've got to pick up my child at daycare before it closes.  (I've heard of people who considered lying about having kids in order to use this one!  How sad is that?!)

3.  I need to get home to let my dog out.  (Faking a pet may be better than trying to fake a kid!)