Work away from work: How to be a flexible workaholic

Work-Life balance.

Many of us yearn for the equilibrium in this arena.

How do we reconcile balance with our work? Few of us can afford to take a month-long vacation to spend time with our families and recuperate from the stresses of our professional lives. Can we really enjoy the best of both worlds? Can there ever be a happy medium?

There is. It is called flexible working. It can help you enjoy and maintain a sense of balance especially in these times of economic uncertainty and high-pressured corporate lifestyles. This can help one regain a sense of equilibrium and enable them to enjoy some much-needed recreational time away from the office. In other words, you get to bask in the sun while working and getting your professional obligations fulfilled.

A survey of over 17,000 businesses worldwide, conducted for Regus, found that 80% of employers offer staff some flexibility over where and when they work. As well as cutting commuting times, it improves people’s better work-life balance – especially during the holidays like the long summer vacation.

Here are five ideas for using flexible working on a vacation:

1. Change your hours: This works especially well if you combine it with working closer to home. Starting earlier beats the traffic, and lets you finish earlier. Equally, starting and finishing later could fit in with children’s holiday activities, and still reduce the time spent in rush-hour traffic.

2. Consider a ‘workation’: Ok, we all know we are meant to switch off on holiday, but better to work some of the time than not to take a holiday at all. The key is to impose rigid rules on yourself: for example limit yourself to 9-11 each morning, and then disconnect for the rest of the day.

3. Be professional: If you want future opportunities to work flexibly, it is not in your interest to hemorrhage trust. So, work the hours you say you will, and at places with reliable internet, Wi-Fi and administrative back-up; and work as effectively as – or better than – usual.

4. Embrace technology: If you are not already making full use of technology and connectivity. Video communication could save you from travelling to meetings, for example, and mobile devices and smart pads will help you work and connect with colleagues on the move.

These ideas will help you enjoy a few more hours of break, and possibly save on childcare bills as well. They could also have longer-lasting results: the changes you make to your working practices this summer could improve your work-life balance and productivity forever.

William Willems, Regional Vice-President, Regus Australia, New Zealand and South-east Asia