Work-life balance: Can you straddle the line?

Repertoire survey finds readers pulled every which way to satisfy demands of work, play, career fulfillment and family

Salespeople have never known the luxury of a 9 to 5 job. How could they, what with pre-call work, field work, paper work, communication with office and customer service staff, follow-up phone calls, questions to and from vendors, etc. And that was before smartphones, tablets and laptops ushered in 24/7 availability.

Career demands, economic demands, and a desire for a rich and satisfying personal and family life can collide, as a recent survey of Repertoire readers shows. Reps are doing what they can to maintain a work/life balance, but it’s difficult to say “no” to a customer, even when you’re with the family on vacation, pursuing a fulfilling or relaxing hobby, or figuring out how to get your sick kid to the doctor’s office.

The survey shows that reps are creative in carving out some “me” time during their busy day. “I eat my lunch in my car with all electronics off to the side, and just get some well-deserved quiet time,” said one respondent. Working smarter and more efficiently is another way that reps try to keep working hours down to an acceptable level.

And many believe that working to maintain a healthy work-life balance actually helps them be more successful on the job. “It gives you a better attitude and ability to relate to your customers’ lives,” said one respondent.

Bottom line, though? It’s a struggle. When asked, “Do you feel that by maintaining a healthy work-life balance, you are (or would be) sacrificing financial compensation or advancement at your company?” 46 percent said yes.

Here are highlights from the online survey, to which Repertoire readers responded in April.

Drawing a line

Many reps draw a line with their company and/or customers in order to maintain a satisfactory work-life balance. Some simply don’t work on weekends. “My customers respect when I have family functions or just need days off with my family,” said one respondent to the Repertoire reader survey. But others believe that there’s no room for such a line. “Haha! Funny question,” wrote another. “Work most nights after 6 p.m. and also most weekends. Also, I do answer phone at ball practices, etc.”

Here are some more survey responses to the question, “Do you draw a line with your company or customers in order to maintain a satisfactory work-life balance.”

“Yes, there is a time to draw the line with both my company and my customers. And that usually depends on the days of the week and the activities outside of work my family has going on. Some activities would be doctor’s appointments, dropping off and picking up from school, and after-school programs.”
“My family and their activities always come first.”
“I will not work after I leave work on Friday until I get back to work on Monday morning.”
“No work on college football Saturdays.”

For most readers, the line is a little fuzzy.

“I won’t work during family time at home. I may occasionally answer the phone/text/email if I am expecting communication, however, I will not actively seek out customers via media unless absolutely necessary and per their permission.”
“I do not ‘draw a line,’ as there are times when you need to be reachable for the customer. It is understood that certain hours are ‘off times,’ but I am always responsive to the customer.”
“I usually get ready for the week on Sundays, which usually is half a day. I try to make my grandchildren’s sporting, but most of the time it does not work out.”
“I won’t work from 5-7 p.m. each evening when my son is home and awake. After I put him to bed for the night, I will open the laptop again.”

Others simply say “no” to drawing such a line, believing that the customer comes first.

“Work when I have to. Could be any day, any time.”
“On call 24 hours a day 7 days a week.”
“I absolutely do draw a line for actual face-to-face time with my company, but being in commission sales, I am never off and will meet with a customer whenever they can if they are buying!”
“I have never ‘drawn the line.’ I know I should, but in situations where I have needed to be at the office and somewhere personally at the same time, I have been fortunate to have a spouse who has (and who does) pick up the slack until I can be there.”

Flexibility is key.

“I do whatever is necessary in order to provide consistent service. The (weekend) urgent care locations have learned not to ask, but know that I will address first thing Monday for them.”
“I don’t draw a hard line on a regular basis, but I make sure that customers have upfront clear expectations and that I communicate with them when I will be less responsive than normal. I tell customers up front what I can do during business hours, and what cannot be done after hours.”
“I’m a field sales rep and I like the flexibility to make my own hours. I put in many hours and work late at night, but family always comes first.”
“I have not had to make any sacrifices on either side of the coin. My work day ends at varying times depending on my work load, but once I leave the building, the work is left behind as well.”

Customers: More demanding than ever?

Are customers really more demanding today than in the past, or does it just seem that way, given their greater access to their sales reps? Most – but not all –respondents to the Repertoire reader survey believe customers are more demanding. “I feel that the expectation is changing as healthcare is changing,” wrote one respondent. “Customers are stressed and feeling the pressure of uncertainty and change. They reach out at all hours and expect a response. I’ve had customers tell me that a 24-hour email turnaround policy is not enough. They request emails to be turned around in one hour.”

Readers were asked, “Are customers more demanding today? And if so, how do you respond to those demands?” Here are some responses from those who believe customers are, indeed, more demanding than ever.

“I handle the tasks I can quickly and immediately on my smartphone or laptop. [For] other tasks that require more time, I prioritize and get to them at my first chance.”
“Yes. I simply keep in touch with them, letting them know I am aware of their needs, then behind the scenes work like hell to get what they want.”
“Yes. I am as responsive as always. All calls and emails from customers get returned within one business day. Contact prior to 12 p.m. easily gets same-day callback, and afternoon calls get returned by the [next] day at noon.”
“Yes, they are. Some customers believe that since they can email you…, you should have an answer within minutes. I make sure that I acknowledge requests when I get them and establish an ETA when I will have their situation taken care of.”
“Yes, but I complete the tasks that I am working on before I respond, in order to avoid giving the impression or expectation that I will jump at the moment I am asked.”
“I believe they know that we are more accessible, so they will send a message. However, they are typically surprised if I respond outside of non-business hours.”
“Customers are more demanding today when you have additional choices for them to contact you via text, cell and email. You can be accessed anywhere and at anytime. When you leave town or the office area, you need to direct them to somebody in customer service. Singularly, I have a great responsibility to meet the customers’ demands; however, I can use my company’s resources to extend to customers another solution for them to contact someone else. When I won’t be available, I give them the option to speak to my backup. Many times those backups can help settle the situation or handle it until I get back in the office.”
“I believe so. I think you need to make yourself available to certain customers at almost all times to be competitive.”
“Yes. They seem to want answers immediately. I return all calls within an hour or two. I have email on my smartphone; my laptop is also equipped with WIFI so I am able to work in my car between appointments.”
“My customer really utilize our webstore if I am not available. We also have an inbound sales team that handles calls/customers as well.”

Some respondents were clear and precise, when asked if their customers are more demanding today, and how they are responding.

“Much more. I do what I can as soon as I can.”
Yes. Work harder.”

SUBHEAD: Customers are not more demanding

Not all respondents agreed that customers are more demanding today.

“Been selling for over 30 years. No different today than when I started. My customers really don’t ‘demand’ anything. ‘Request’ is a better term.”
“Not really, I still have the option to determine what I feel needs to be handled immediately and what can wait for follow-up.”
“No more demanding than in the past. I feel once you get the relationship and trust, the demand is gone. It’s now their expectations that you have to meet, which again, is no problem at all.”
“I don’t believe customers are more demanding. In fact, I’ve noted that customers are quite capable of getting answers on their own.”

Two masters

Who’s tougher – your customers or your boss? Here are some responses to the Repertoire reader survey question, “Do you find it more difficult to draw a line with your customers than your manager or boss?”

“Many times I have cut my boss or company off to handle a customer issue. They know who pays the bills!”
“Yes, I do, because the customer is always right.”
“Yes. Co-workers understand what we do and how we do it. Customers take some of that for granted.”
“Yes. The customer can fire you faster than your boss for no reason at all.”
“In some cases, yes, but I try to set clear expectations with customers at the beginning of our relationship.”
“Yes, I can make my boss wait, I don’t often want my customers to wait. They can go elsewhere if I do choose not to respond quickly.”
“In my opinion, it is more difficult for sales reps to draw that line, because it may be the one service point that sets him/her apart from the competitor. Or it may be the only opportunity for the rep to speak to a doctor, for example, who may not be accessible to them during their normal sales call at the office.”
“Yes. The customer is important and requires extra attention, especially these days with IDNs and the fact that they are open longer and later.”
“The customer is everything associated with my job and responsibility. It is more difficult to draw lines when I am focused on selling my customer the service aspect before my product. I am more prone to let my customers know that I am doing everything I can do for them.”
“I am more accommodating to my customers. While I respect my manager’s requests, it is the customer who gets my full attention.”
“Most definitely, because my boss works just as hard as I do, so he knows how it feels. Plus, he used to be a sales rep, so he is very familiar.”
“Yes, I find it’s harder to tell a customer that I’ll get back to them later. Our industry is extremely competitive, and I want my customers to receive unparalleled service.”
“Customers are definitely tougher. Given that my boss is also in sales, he knows that things don’t always go as planned, so there’s a little more leeway there.”

Not all respondents agreed.

“No. I know if my manager asked something of me out of the norm, it is because it is very important. I cannot say no.”
“No. Not too many of my customers work after hours or on weekends, so I don’t have to set those limits.”
“No. It is a lot harder to draw a line with managers. I think this is because managers are working a lot more hours than they used to. They expect the same from their employees.”
“No, I am equal opportunity enforcer.”
“No. Work for both.”
“I don’t draw any lines. I’m there for everyone.”

Push and pull

Despite the best-laid plans to segment work and personal life, sales reps often feel the pull between the two. Repertoire readers who responded to the work-life balance survey described circumstances in which they feel that pull most acutely.

“I would say when one or more of my kids are sick and the other still needs to be taken to school on my busiest day of the week. Extra trips to the local Walgreens for medicine after the doctor’s visit, and somehow still managing to get my day done. Some of those types of days may not be very productive in the field, but I can still get most tasks accomplished with a smartphone and computer at hand.”
“Sales meetings are usually the worst between me and my boss, and it is not that it interferes with my family life. It interferes with selling time in front of the customer. There are already too many distractions that take me out of the field.”
“At year end, [when] inventory is needing to be counted and my family is waiting for me to go to the cottage. (Our year-end is the August long weekend.)”
“Last Friday, needed to head out to pick up my 16-month-old son. Yet a customer had a critical situation that couldn’t wait until the next week.”
“A large customer requests information that takes a long time to gather late in the day, and gives you a short deadline.”
“On vacation. It seems truly impossible to get away without checking in or being asked to join ‘just one call’ or something.”
“Vacations are difficult because I don’t have a fill-in person in my territory to deal with even simple things for more than a day or two at most.”
“There are times when projects demand more time than the normal work day allows, and I have had to take work home. When that does happen, though, I limit the amount of time I work at home to hours that do not interfere with my family. I may work after my husband goes to bed, or early in the morning before our normal routine or day’s plans get under way.”
“When my family starts to complain I am not engaged.”
“The typical situation is family vacations. You express to customers or your boss that you are looking forward to a vacation, but they still leave you a message while you are away about something. That one message pulls me away from the dedicated time with my family. I feel that message is a responsibility that is ingrained in my life, that I cannot forgo the delay. I most assuredly take vacation time, which includes weekend days, since I know I don’t usually receive communication from customers.”
“When my boss asks me to attend a sales meeting when I am on vacation.”
Vacation. By far vacation. My customers’ needs and my family’s needs. AHHHH.”
“When you have to take your kids to the doctor sick, and your customer’s order did not arrive, you quickly find yourself multitasking.”
“I am a single mom to a 13-year-old. There are many instances in which I have to work late or work from home after hours and I do not give him as much attention as I feel I should – such as making sure he is studying enough.”
“There have been times where we have dinner meetings. I don’t like these at all. Evenings should be for family.”
“Weekend events, such as conventions that…we must attend to represent our company and to fulfill our customer requirements as well. However, these events generally cut into what is normally personal time. Providing we can make allowances to take that personal time at a future date, one can still maintain balance.”
“I had to deliver table tops at 3 a.m. in order to meet my daughter and her family for a football game.”
“When I am getting in, sitting down at dinner at 6 p.m. and my phone is ringing with a customer on the other line with an issue, etc.”

What’s gender got to do with it?

Many readers believe men and women feel the same pressures balancing work and life. Others disagree. Some Repertoire reader survey responses to the question, “Do you think your gender affects your feelings about work-life balance?”

“Yes, because I am the mom and tend to get pulled in all directions.”
“There are times I think I should be spending more time with my children. However, I have made arrangements so that both my children (different years) have been able to come to work with me by having a nanny on staff. The best situation would have been them being home full time with my spouse or me, but this situation is far better than full-time day care.”
“Most males are hunters, so it is part of us. [T]he work scenario balance is extremely difficult to shut off once home because the job is not done until often 9 p.m. Corporate email continues after the clock.”
“Yes. I think women tend to worry more and have more responsibility at both places and worry about doing it all. I think men typically focus more on work, but tend to ‘stay’ at office or in work-mode and do less at home. Check out the book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg for more details and insight.”
“Absolutely. I am a woman and women try to do everything.”
“Yes, I’m a man, my wife takes care of the things at home, so I’m able to concentrate on my job whether I’m in the office or at the house.”
“I think women have a much harder time. Many more responsibilities at home and a societal expectation to do it all.”
“Yes. If I were the primary income earner, and I had a wife /husband that was available to take care of the kids, cleaning and cooking, I would be more focused on my job and would have more separation from additional responsibilities around the home.”

Some respondents weren’t so sure about the impact of gender on the way they feel about work-life balance.

“No I don’t think that it is a gender issue. It is very individual. I know plenty of men who have as many responsibilities at home as women, so it comes down to personal situation.”
“I don’t know about gender affecting my feelings, since any man or woman who is the breadwinner has to realize the required emotional and financial responsibilities. I know that a servant spirit is more concerned for others before self, therefore, I want to treat my family to a security that I will handle the load whether I am at work or on personal time with them.”
“As a male, I feel both responsible to my company to perform my duties and, as a father/grandfather, I feel responsible to be there when it counts for my family.”
“No. I see both genders effectively attempting to balance work-life.”
“Same for both sexes.”

Health and the work-life balance

Repertoire’s survey on work-life balance asked, “What do you do on the job, that is, during working hours, that helps you maintain a healthy work-life balance?” Many of the responses revolved around health – physical, mental and emotional. Some examples.

“Listen to talk radio.”
“Stay focused.”
“Walk on my lunch hours.”
“I am able to take breaks and have lunch with my child.”
“Walk and take the stairs in buildings vs. the elevator. A chance to flush the system.”
“Attempting to take two ‘walk/exercise’ breaks during working hours to refresh the mind and body, along with drinking plenty of water and having healthy snacks.”
“I have organized my Outlook email so they automatically get filed into folders. This allows me to prioritize based on person, subject, sender, etc.”
“I talk about other things besides trying to sell everyday. I learn about my accounts’ likes and dislikes.”
“Stop to eat healthfully. Drink lots of water. Take short mental breaks.”
“Go to activities with my wife for one of our children or grandchildren.”
“Try to stop and take an hour for lunch and eat healthy.”
“I take a sit-down lunch break almost every day, and use the time to answer emails mid-day. Though I may see one less customer, my customers come to learn that it is generally not more than 2-3 hours before I will respond to them, which they appreciate. I also make sure to stay organized in my routing to avoid excessive out-of-the-way travel. When faced with requests from customers that are simple tasks they can complete themselves, I try to use the request to teach them how to find the information on their own for future use.”
“I often take a walk to clear my head. Phone is with me, but I get out of the office and try to get exercise.”
“Take mini breaks to give myself a moment to decompress.”
“Occasional quiet time/me time through the day to refocus/review priorities. Stretching and movement are beneficial too.”
“I have a support network of friends or coworkers that I can call to discuss things that relate to what they are experiencing in work or personal life. Those conversations bring your life and their lives into perspective. We all struggle and succeed. There are situations during the day where you need to stop and realize we are not alone, we have family, friends and co-workers to discuss how they are coping or winning the battles of each day.”
“I enjoy the freedom to move between customer sales calls, not confined to an office, interacting with my customers regarding family and personal interests.”
“Hopefully stay as focused on work as possible so that you can get most of your work done during work hours, so that you do not have to bring work home.”
“Life is 10 percent what happens to us everyday and 90 percent how we react to it. Relax, think it through and make your decisions.”
“I am able to work out of my home and can throw in a load of laundry or start dinner early while working from my office. Also, running to doctor appointments for myself or family can be scheduled easier, as my job has more flexibility. I can work into the evening if something comes up during the day.”
“I have had to learn to not promise to have everything done in 24 hours. That can be hard.”
“Pre-planning. Trying to stay on schedule.”
“Be as productive as possible. Delegate when necessary. Work with customers to set realistic expectations.”
“Read my Bible.”
“Maintain a sense of humor; try to work with manufacturer reps and customers that I like.”

Is there a payoff for work-life balance?

Most respondents to the Repertoire reader survey believe that maintaining a healthy work-life balance can help them be more successful in their job. Some responses.

“It helps me to give my all while I am at work.”
“I am more refreshed, relaxed and happier when I get back to my office after spending time with my child.”
“With age, the recovery is significantly longer and burnout more often, so to maintain a balance is even more important.”
“Better attitude. Less frazzled. Willing to give more when refreshed and not burned out.”
“Having a happy home life reflects in my personality. It is necessary to perform well.”
“I feel more focused by having a good work-life balance. I feel it helps with memory retention as well, because you are present at work in both mind and body.”
“I need to be healthy and sharp. The balance of healthy work-life vs. constantly focused on work keeps me more energetic and enthused, while also allowing me to experience and share other aspects of my life with co-workers and customers. One-dimensional life is not attractive to my customers, in my opinion, and it allows me to develop a deeper relationship with my customers by hearing of their non-work interests.”
“If you feel good about yourself, you feel good about your job. Your health is everything. I should know. I’m 68 and been doing this for over 40 years!”
“A healthy work-life balance is difficult and requires consistency and discipline. This can be thrown off by a family emergency, sudden loss or high stress. Healthy expectations of capabilities, matched with time and your own expectations of outcomes is necessary to maintain a sense of overall happiness and job satisfaction.”
“No burn out. More focused. Less stress. More production.”
“Being well-rounded with personal and family time makes you a more motivated salesperson. It pushes me to make the most of my time at work.”
“I am happier when things are balanced. Happiness makes you smile; smiles mean higher commissions!”

For some, maintaining a work-life balance is a work in progress.

“Being able to find that healthy medium would help manage the stresses of home and work better and decrease my physical and mental energy drain that I usually feel on those tough-to manage-weeks.”
“I feel that my performance would actually improve if I didn’t work 50-60 hours a week. I am constantly exhausted and I know my mental focus isn’t as good.”
“Might keep my sanity a little longer.”
“I would be in a better mood.
“I think it can, but haven’t figured that out yet.”

Is work-life balance an unrealistic goal?

By Dan Nielsen

Perhaps the best approach is to look at life in terms of seasons

Balance. It’s something I believe we all want, but all tend to struggle with. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day or days in the week to fit in work, family, exercise, and a social life – not to mention hobbies, travel, or volunteer opportunities.

What is the secret? How do we achieve balance in our lives?

Maybe there isn’t a secret to balance, because maybe balance simply isn’t realistic. Author and speaker John Maxwell has this advice: “What I encourage people to do is not focus so much on balance, because I’m not sure it’s possible. I don’t think we can always live balanced lives… I think we need to look at our lives as seasons.”

I think Maxwell makes a very good point. If we focus too much on trying to achieve balance in our lives – or focus on our inability to do so – we inevitably will be disappointed and discouraged. It simply isn’t possible to do everything we would like to do at any given point in life. Sometimes sacrifices must be made and aspirations postponed.

If we accept the reality that completely ‘balanced lives’ are virtually unattainable, and instead identify different seasons in our lives, we relieve ourselves of the pressure to fit everything into our daily routines.

Rather than groaning over our failure to do everything on our to-do lists, we allow ourselves the freedom to pursue certain things during a different season.

Of course, prioritizing is key. You must first determine what makes sense in your life during this current season, then identify those things that are most important for YOU right now.

You might be in a season where your children are young and your top priority is spending time with them. Or you could be in a season where you don’t yet have family demands, and career building is at the top of the list. For some people, health and exercise might be a top priority during certain seasons, and for other people, church and family commitments.

Complete balance simply isn’t realistic. So whatever your season of life, take some time to think about what your highest priorities are for this season, and set aside some of your other ‘to-dos’ and aspirations for a coming season. I guarantee you will relish the freedom!

Source: “Tips for Greater Success,” (http://dannielsen.com/category/greater-success/tips-for-greater-success/), Dan Nielsen. Dan Nielsen is the founder of the National Institute for Healthcare Leadership and author of the book Presidential Leadership: Learning from Presidential Libraries & Museums.

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