New Year’s Resolutions
December 18th, 2007 by Cali & Jody
Here’s a peppy press release from DayTimers, Inc., who commissioned a survey about New Year’s resolutions that target work-life balance. Not surprisingly, everyone pretty much sucks at keeping them:
Top resolutions that people made and failed at in 2007 were related to health, finance and work/life balance. They included:
1. Increase exercise -- 51% failed
2. Eat healthier -- 58% failed
3. Save money -- 52% failed
4. Spend time with family -- 57% failed
5. Enjoy leisure -- 54% failed
Hmmm . . . wonder why people find it so hard to keep these resolutions. Is it because they are lazy, stupid and weak? Or is it because the deck is stacked against them? Is it because they’re trapped in a system (i.e. traditional work) that robs them of control over their time, which makes taking control of their life that much harder?
We’re not going to sit here and say a Results-Only Work Environment is going to make the world a healthier, happier place . . . but it could. We have both anecdotal and quantitative evidence that people in a ROWE exercise more, sleep more (and get better quality sleep), eat better and spend more time with their friends and family. And they still get their work done.
That’s why this year our resolution is to change the way everyone works. Let’s get people living and working in a way that’s sane for the individual and good for business. Then maybe a few years from now you won’t have to make New Year’s resolutions to go to the gym more. Because you already will be.
Not to take anything away from your efforts or the ROWE philosophy, but I just cannot understand why employers refuse it? Do they not relaize that in turning down ROWE (in some cases, like mine, even turing down information about ROWE), they continue to breed low morale?
As a young child I could always remember hearing the mantra: A happy worker is a good worker. That followed me into my initial employment and later too. Yet, I never saw it practiced by employers???
Why not?