THRIVE
Posted April 25, 2014 • Leadership,Mindfulness • by Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler, Ph.D.
Increasingly these days, in the quiet moments of reflection that I am honored and grateful to share with top executives, they “admit” to me the following: “I want to pursue a career in another field– one that is not known for traveling every week of the year” and “I want to move from NYC to Maine in order to slow down my family’s pace of life and lower our living expenses”.
We, in American society, have finally reached the breaking point. We are beginning to see the “backlash” from maxing out our Puritanical work ethic. It is simply no longer possible for us to work ourselves harder, or for longer hours, or for more weeks of the year. We’ve done the maximum, and now we’re seeing the effects of collectively living this way: a society that has been incredibly productive, but that is full of exhausted, depressed people.
How many exhausted, depressed people do you know who can continue to be incredibly productive?
As a result of these devastating effects, we are seeing the backlash from living this way: people making decisions, one by one, to turn off their cell phones, simplify their lives, stay home with their kids.
We are now embarking on a societal revolution that will eventually bring us back to the middle: a society where we are highly productive AND where we know how to take care of ourselves and our children. A society that is driven by our ability to connect instantaneously online AND in which we learn how to set healthy boundaries so we can connect in person too.
As leaders of organizations, it is particularly important not only to make the individual choices towards a saner world for yourself. I encourage you to take a stand to shift your team, your organization, your community towards a more balanced way of life. Your people will thank you– and they’ll also be more likely to be loyal to you, to work harder for you, and to be happier doing what they’re doing for you too.
Let me know how your efforts go!
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