We live in a 24/7 culture that’s always on. With the ability to stay connected around the clock, the lines between work and home have blurred. Work-life balance and work-life integration can be hard to manage, but we found successful executives who have figured out how to remain successful while still making time for their friends and family.
Indra K. Nooyi CEO, PepsiCo- Nooyi doesn’t believe women can have it all, but she does believe a balance can be achieved. “I don’t think women can have it all. I just don’t think so. We pretend we have it all. We pretend we can have it all. My husband and I have been married for 34 years. And we have two daughters. “And every day you have to make a decision about whether you are going to be a wife or a mother, in fact, many times during the day you have to make those decisions,” she tells The Atlantic. She admits that “meticulously planning” her life has allowed her to be a “decent parent,” and she believes her daughters, if asked, would say she is a good mom. To balance her work and life Nooyi allows her personal assistant to give her children permission to do certain things when they call the office. Nooyi provides her assistant with a set of questions that when answered correctly allow her children to play with friends, play video games, and take part in other activities.
Mark Weinberger, CEO, Ernst and Young- “At any moment you are going to feel guilty about what you’re not doing, like today I’m missing the World Economic Forum in Europe to move my daughter into her dorm in USC,” EY CEO Mark Weinberger tells Time. Among our list of executives, Weinberger has perhaps the most family-focused approach to work-life balance. Following a meeting in China, EY’s CEO was asked if he would be taking selfies with his employees at the Great Wall. He said that wouldn’t be possible because he needed to be back in Washington, DC, the following day to take his daughter to her driving test. His message has resonated with employees. “Afterwards, I got hundreds of emails: Not a single person remembered the terrific speech I gave, but everybody remembered I went home for my daughter,” he tells Time.
Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo- Marissa Mayer, CEO, YahooMarissa Mayer took only two weeks’ maternity leave when her son was born. But she didn’t compromise on spending time with her newborn: She had a nursery built next to her office. Of course not everyone has the opportunity to bring their children to work. For those workers, Mayer offers a simple suggestion: “Find your rhythm.” “Avoiding burnout isn’t about getting three square meals or eight hours of sleep. It’s not even necessarily about getting time at home,” she tells Bloomberg. “I have a theory that burnout is about resentment. And you beat it by knowing what it is you’re giving up that makes you resentful. I tell people: Find your rhythm. Your rhythm is what matters to you so much that when you miss it you’re resentful of your work.”
Kim Jabal, CFO, Weebly- “The only way that anyone can balance work and family or work and personal life, is if everyone within an organization agrees that ‘life balance’ is critical to the overall well-being of employees and the productivity, and effectiveness of the company,” Jabal tells Business Insider. Jabal says flexibility is key when finding your work-life balance. She has no problem leaving work early for family dinners if it means taking a few hours at the end of the night to finish her work. “Rigid work hours and work location make it much more challenging,” Jabal says. Her plan seems pretty straightforward. “Home an hour in the morning, get kids to school, work in the office 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., have dinner with kids, work three hours at night,” she says.
Employees put in the same number of hours but spend a critical few hours with their family members. Jabal also says both parents need to make sure parenting is 50-50 from day one. “It’s not just the mom’s job. It’s the parents’ job,” she says.
Source: www.businessinsider.in