Life and work should not be in constant competition for your time. Let me say that again: life and work should not be in constant competition for your time.

The simplicity of this statement is unfortunately lost on most working Americans. The reality of our workforce paints an alternative canvas with themes of overtime, shortened weekends, and missed holidays.

On the surface, this means we’re merely sacrificing a bit of time to get ahead at our jobs, to balance the books of our fledgling business, or to attend school and work part time as the manager of our campus Kinkos. We live under the illusion the current sacrifice will reap future rewards, but what this often translates to is a loss of productivity, efficiency, and personal gratitude.

When the costs are calculated it is abundantly clear that companies are often better served giving their employees the ability to enjoy life. After all, a happy employee is usually a good employee. And good, happy employees almost always equal less costly mistakes, and certainly they lead to less turnover.

It is for this reason that regardless of management style (see article on operational questions) efforts from both employers and employees should point toward a better work life blend. Blending work and leisure mean that the two are separate, but also that they inform one another. What person leaves the office and immediately loses all the time and knowledge they held the second before they left the door? It doesn’t work like that!

We want to know:
What’s your blend like? What does work mean to you? Do you work from home, a small office, a large office? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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So does deferred gratification result in 1:1, 1:2, or 2:1 style ratios?

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