Work Less and Improve Your Results

Author: Beth Armknecht Miller

Author: Beth Armknecht Miller

Are you one of those people who cant shut down over the weekend? Or worse yet, you cant shut down during the evening? Well you are not alone. Last spring the Society of Human Resource Management completed a survey and found that 70% of employees work beyond their scheduled work hours, including weekends. Over half of these respondents did this because of their own self-limiting beliefs that they needed to be putting in the extra hours. As Americans we pride ourselves in our work ethic. But too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. The Cost of Working Too Much So whats the big deal if you are working more than tfL?U???????5Y2u-?7???@???MO? ????{???? v??2??I(?8??? Strained personal relationships--both family and friends are impacted by the person who has become disconnected. Health problemswhen you dont take time to care for your body, many health problems can arise, beginning with sleep and weight problems. Added stress can also lead to cardiovascular and gastric problems. Poor decisionsa higher incident of poor decisions have been reported as work hours increase. Benefits from Taking Time Out and Time Off A recent article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), Making Time Off Predictable and Required by Leslie A. Perlow and Jessica L. Porter, reports on a four-year study of 12 Boston Consulting Group consulting teams. Each person on the team was required to take a predictable amount of time off during each work week. The results of this study showed that when the consultants had to work together to make sure that each team member got some time off each week, communications were enhanced and more personal information was shared, resulting in closer relationships with each other. And because the teams had d?s_client = "pub-5157679868954075"; google_ad_width = 160; google_ad_height = 600; google_ad_formatt all companies are organized like Boston Consulting Group, so how can you implement a Time Out-Time Off program in your organization or in your personal life? Steps for the Business Leader As a business leader, your greatest resources are the people who come to work each day. Without them, there is no business. So it makes sense to encourage taking time off based on the evidence from the HBR article previously cited. Below are some ideas you can use to make sure that your team members are taking time out and time off. Start tracking employee overtime and skipped vacation time. Include these measurements in employee performance feedback. Skipped vacation should be unacceptable and overtime should be discouraged. When vacations are scheduled, get team members to develop a support plan for the employee who will be out to insure that the vacationing employee can fully disconnect. Provide work time for employees to sharpen their saw. Each employee will have different professional or personal development priorities for renewing themselves. Personal development may include physical, emotional, and?|k Top Authors

a: What was your peach of today?, and b: What was your pit of today? These questions are easy for children to understand and to respond. 4. Dont skip vacations. Make time to plan and prepare for vacation. And whenthe time comes disconnect - no iPhones or laptops! Make sure you have someone who can back you up while you are away. Whether you are leading an entire business, managing a team, or working on your own, the benefits of integrating a time off-time out routine are clear and the steps are not difficult. The real question to ask yourself is, why not work less and improve your results? About the Author:

Beth Armknecht Miller, of Atlanta, Georgia, is Founder and President of Executive Velocity, a leadership development coaching firm accelerati

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