Work Life balance and Saying No

Is it worth?Some times this thought crosses my mind.I look around and see people who are work alcoholic.They work and work and miss some thing very important in life - Balance.Is work life balance important.I think if we have to lead a healthy life,satisfactory life we have to strike the balance.No work is also not good and more work is also bad.Yes at times extra hours are needed at work and one must be ready to go an extra mile .But if organization starts taking extra working hours as granted and start planning your extra hours,definately some thing is wrong.Productivity takes a sharp dip if a person is working more than 8-10 hours.The number of mistakes increase sharply and in turn rework increases.Then it becomes catch 22 situation.People put in more hours to cover the mistakes and since they are already over worked,they commit more mistakes.More mistakes means more working hours.Managers give the plea that once project is over ,some relief will be given in terms of holidays or less work.But in any case balance is lost .So is it possible that you will always meet people who are balanced.No.Then in situations where your boss is work alcoholic what are the different option sub ordinate has.These kind of situation teach you a very good lesson.Lesson is how to say no in a diplomatic way.Saying no smartly needs another blog . I would rather quote here one instance.I  met one manager while i was traveling on vacation to my home.He was busy with his laptop in the waiting lounge before boarding the plane.He was busy calling people and discussing things.By my bad luck,he was seated next to me in plane.Flight was going to take 6 hours and by the time he could say hello to me 4 hours were gone by.I know its bad to look into anybody's laptop but i couldn't resist seeing what he was doing.I started the conversation by asking a question "Are you  going for client visit and preparing all the data?.Answer was no.It was just routine work and he was also going home for vacation.And then ,official Gyan Started.He told me that there were so many people like him in the job market who were ready to take his place.If he will not out perform them in working hours as well as quality,he might loose his position.So he had to work for at least 14-16 hours daily to keep his position secure.I could see big black circles beneath his small eyes.There was little whistling sound when he took breath.Work was taking toll on his health .And i pitied his team.I asked what about your team?.Answer was "Team aah, people must work 14 hours .Saturday is unofficial working and if there is work,Sunday is not a holiday". i was shocked.There were many people according to him in job market whom he think could easily replace his team as well.He had recently changed his job and he had to perform to show his superiors that he is quite capable of doing anything in this world.So he has taken more work in less time and with less resources.Thats just one example but i could see many people like him around me.People like him are not bothered about balance.Neither about their life nor about their teams work life balance.Some time later in life they might feel what they have missed but what about others.Sub-ordinates, specially would suffer with these kind of bosses.Except from saying no to such kind of people there is hardly any other option left with subordinates if they want to make work life balance.

tooo soft or too harsh bosses

People management is all to gether a different ball game .When transition happens in your career from technical to managerial role,people management plays pivotal role in your growth.In people management,its very important that people are happy as well as they are working properly.They must feel the ownership for their module and give their best shot.But can people management be learned through books.It comes only through experience.Generalization has no place in people management as different people behave differently in different circumstances.Soft skills play a major role when managing people.Tone, words should be carefully chosen .Words shall give feeling to subordinates that boss is happy or not but at the same time shall not demotivate them. Communication has to be precise and well thought of.Boss should not be too soft or too harsh.Too harsh bosses will make people run away and too soft bosses will not be able to push people to complete their work.Management schools can only suggest different techniques and no technique is perfect when dealing with people.To keep people happy and make them work with ownership is real skill set.If one has devolped it over a period of time,it will definately take one to great heights.

Risk taking capacity and micromanaging

Risk taking capacity goes synonymous with success.So question is what kind of risk.Risk are of different types like taking a plunge from secure job to starting a buissness.There are other forms like when  you work in an organization and delegate.Risk is when you believe in your sub ordinate that he will take charge of work and make things happen.Regular checks are required to ascertain whether things are on the right track or not. These checks can vary from one person to another.There are very few thumb rules which applies to all the people.But if we do not delegate and keep telling an individual what to do how to do when to do, its micromanaging.Micro managing things has two big risks associated with it.One it can push the sub ordinate to a level where he stops taking initiative and gets frustrated.Second your work load increases tremendously.Only thing micro managing helps in achieving is short term goals.How many people are ready to take the risk of leaving things to deserving people whom they think can complete the work .Very few.And those who do they rise because by doing this ,they are preparing thier lower layer and hence have ample time to sharpen thier skills.But at times ,according to situation micro managing is also needed.But thats only for short period of time.If it becomes the norm then definately some thing is amiss.If micromanaging is norm,does it tell some thing about your boss.?