Page 37 - BusinessWest June 23, 2021

Amy Roberts says PeoplesBank wants to develop strategies with its employees to avoid overly blurring the lines between work and family time, especially when working at home.
pandemic goals, against unfavorable odds. Despite everything, we priori- tized work.”
But treating work as a sacred object has consequences, Grady argues. “We have treated work as something to be taken home and cherished. Work is our lover. And this year, we took it to bed.”
Bean understands that risk. “We’ve always strongly encouraged employ- ees to have work-life balance as much as possible and encouraged people to unplug at the end of the day and not resume work until they’re back in the office again,” he said. “That worked much better in the pre-pandemic world, where there were cleaner lines between work and home.”
Paragus has long offered employ- ees ‘discretionary time’ for personal obligations and appointments, which they can make up later. “We try to
give employees freedom to schedule their work around what works for both them and the company.”
on the counter and stays there until I go to bed. It’s rare for me to check e-mail at home, and it’s rare for me to work weekends. I try my best to model that you don’t need to work all night and on weekends to keep up; you can do your job during your work hours, then be with your family. You need that bal- ance, and your family needs you there.”
Beyond that, he added, employees need to
“We have to ensure people
can easily get things done
and make decisions as a team from anywhere. We feel this
is an important aspect of any sustainable hybrid work model.”
decompress from work in order to be productive the next day. “You need that separation time to process. You’re never able to let it sink in and reflect when you’re just going, going, going.”
Roberts agreed. “We are concerned about the blurring of lines with people who are working at home,” she said. “We are looking at this issue to determine if there are other ways we can ensure this balance with our plan for long-term workplace flexibility.”
Ideas include encouraging employees to work in a dedicated space, and at the end of the work day,
Balance
Continued on page 42
article titled “How Capitalism and the Pandemic Destroyed our Work-life Balance,” arguing that, in
a precarious, COVID-disrupted economy, workers became even more attached to their work, in often- unhealthy ways.
“Those of us who were lucky enough to have jobs we could do from home brought our work into our living rooms, our kitchens, our bedrooms,” she wrote. “We pivoted. We shared strategies for how to be productive and overcome the stress of trying to work during a global health emergency. We chal- lenged ourselves to meet and even exceed our pre-
But over the past year, those lines blurred, with more people shifting their schedules
or even working sporadically, a couple hours on and a couple off — especially when they were helping their homebound kids navigate the world of remote learning.
Hopefully, a return to something approaching normal, even if it does include some remote work, will sharpen those lines a bit. What helps, Bean said, is making firm decisions on what the home is actu- ally for, especially at night.
“I’m very strict. When I get home, the phone goes
IS
YOUR BUSINESS.
Samuel Ortiz
Vice President, Small Business Development www.countrybank.com/business/lending-officers [email protected]
DIRECT DIAL: (413) 277-2046
Meet Sam.
He takes great pride in making sure customers are well taken care of, with the right products and top-notch service. He’s here to help with all of your business banking needs.
MEMBER FDIC MEMBER DIF
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
JUNE 23, 2021 37
BusinessWest