My Time Is My Own

"All my possessions for a moment of time."

--Queen Elizabeth I (Her dying words.)

It's possible that QEI was describing flex-time, and she didn't even realize that she was on to something big! As technology makes the mobile office more viable and effective, more of us are begging and pleading for flexible work schedules. There's nothing like freeing the oppressive chains that bind you to a corporate cubicle after you've gone through a grueling 2 hour grind in traffic. The first day you work from home and realize that your commute is the distance between your shower and your laptop on the kitchen table is a moment that sticks with you forever---its almost as big as the birth of your first child!

With all of the advantages of flex-time, mobile offices, telecommuting and the like, why can't more Americans avail themselves of it? One word: Management! Most managers grew up without any concept of flex-time or mobile office-ing so they don't necessarily buy into it. Some managers feel that the rank and file are not disciplined enough to handle the freedom of working from home---all the distractions will invariably lead to nothing getting done. Plus, from a manager's viewpoint, once you let one person work from home or have a shorter work week or alter his shift by a few hours then EVERYONE in the company is going to want to do the exact same thing---that's just too much heavy lifting for any manager to handle.

Instead of being more flexible, what I'm increasingly hearing is that management is expecting MORE time at work and is layering on more INCONVENIENT restrictions and mandates to the workday parameters. Here are a few real-life examples of what some clients have recently told me:

Kim was a school administrator who left corporate life so she could have a job that didn't demand that she should travel. Thinking that she was giving away all her possessions (huge salary, nice car, six-figure travel expense account, etc) for a moment of time with her kids each night and on weekends; it turned out that her school superintendent frequently asked/required Kim to work 10 hour days and to attend social events for parents and students on weekends. There was a recent event that required Kim to stay overnight at a local hotel. Her boss wouldn't let her go home to see her kids. She HAD to stay in that hotel, even though it was a few miles from her house. Kim HAD to work the entire weekend and then return to her 10 hour days and social dinners at night. Her time was no longer her own and worst of all, unlike in corporate life, she wasn't getting paid for relinquishing her time.

Christina was a corporate financial & compensation analyst who worked, on average, 75 hours each week. Sometimes, in addition to her 75 hour work week, she would also work 10 hour shifts on Saturdays AND Sundays. Suffice it to say, she had no life. In addition, when you worked the numbers, her hourly rate of pay was less than $15/hour. About the same as a stock-boy at the local grocery store. She had a salary that was close to six-figures yet she was barely eking out a life that had any quality at all. She gave all her time to taxable income, and that's all she had. She decided to make a career change so she could have an normal 9-5 job with weekends off. To her, that 'free time' was akin to a $200,000 promotion!

Tony was a world traveling manager who, because of his travel requirements was almost never home. He spent one day each week at home, which meant he was in the company headquarters one day each week. He asked his boss if he could just stay home on those one-single instances when he was in town, so he could recharge, spend time with his family and get ready for his next trip. He promised that he would log in and take care of meetings via phone, etc. The answer: a resounding NO! Any rational person would most likely think, "This guy Tony is out all of the time anyway, so what's the big deal if he works from home one day each week. It will give him a break and it will be win-win for everyone." As we all know being rational and management do not go hand in glove, and that's why Tony's boss told him this: "Since you're never here, you damn-well better get your butt in here that one day you are in town. You have to make your presence known---you can't be this phantom apparition who floats in here once a year and disappears into the mysterious unknown. Plus, I can't give you special treatment for doing your job."

So, instead of flying home all night from Asia, then being required to report to the office as soon as he landed, he stopped going to Asia. Instead of saving the company money by connecting all of his trips together by flying from home to Boston on Sunday, then Boston to Miami on Monday, then Miami to Denver on Tuesday and Denver to Seattle on Wednesday and Seattle to Anchorage on Thursday, then back home on Friday---he took separate trips. He would fly from home to his meeting destination then he'd return home that same night. It cost a hell of a lot more for the company, but Tony needed to get HIS time back.

Your time is your own....it can't be taxed by Uncle Sam and its more priceless than any paycheck or promotion. Unless you aspire to hold a position that is higher than the Queen of England, then you'll probably regret not taking control of your time.