A few weeks ago, I read an awesome ebook on Change This (a great site where you can find a ton of free ebooks on ideas that can change the world – or at least your little corner of it) called The Freak Factory.
Turns out, David Rendall, the guy who wrote it, is a fan of Renegade HR. He wrote today’s post. Enjoy!
Renegade Genes
Dandelions are very resilient. They can grow and thrive in almost any conditions. If you have dandelion genes, you’ll be able to adapt to difficult circumstances and overcome significant obstacles.
Orchids, on the other hand, are not resilient. They require very specific environments in order to thrive. If you have orchid genes, you have a greater risk of failure when facing harsh conditions.
If you had a choice, which would you choose? Would you want to be an orchid or a dandelion? As a manager, would you want to work with orchids or dandelions? Keep reading…
Yesterday, Kris Dunn posted an article on HR Capitalist about work/life balance.
The gist: HR isn’t responsible for it.
The truth: Employees are responsible for their own work/life balance, and if they want more money, promotions and fame, they’re going to have to work harder than those around them.
I agree, but I don’t think work/life balance is about working less.
To me, work/life balance is the ability to do great work and get all of your other priorities accomplished, too. That means giving people the freedom to choose when and where to do their work so they can best balance every aspect of their life.
Sometimes you need to be in the office to get something done (I’d argue that’s really the case far less than managers would like to believe). Sometimes it doesn’t matter.
Sometimes all you need is an internet connection and a laptop or cell phone. Sometimes those aren’t options – when you’re at the dentist, for example – and you work at night.
The point is, people are working. Work/life balance isn’t about doing less work. It’s about having the freedom to choose when and where.
That’s something HR can influence.
(So what do you think, am I way off-base here? Are the number of hours worked part of work/life balance, too?)
UPDATE: The Best of Renegade HR is no longer available.
This is the last week you can get your hands on copy of the Best of Renegade HR.
The Best of Renegade HR is an ebook featuring 23 of the best ideas and insights from this site. It’s kind of like a field guide to recruiting great people and helping them do amazing things that drive your business.
You can read it on your computer, throw it on a mobile device, or print it out and scribble in the margins. If you want a copy, I stop selling it on Sunday, so make sure you buy it before then.
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