Work-life balance. What a scam…

Here’s a slightly off topic thought for all of you out there.. Here we are on a weekend day, Super Bowl Sunday, the big game just under two hours away (for those of you sports fans or commercial lovers) and it got me thinking about an often discussed topic: work-life balance. How many times have you heard someone tell you that you need better work-life balance or do you hear the topic of work-life balance being portrayed as something to strive for? For those of you who have yet to start your weekend or are “always on,” this may be a very familiar topic for you :-) Every heard about subliminal messaging?

For those of you that work with me at Microsoft, you may have heard me talk about this before. So what does work-life balance have to do with subliminal messaging? Think about it. Every time someone says or writes it, what do you see and hear? Work always comes before life. So let’s try something new. Let’s strive for some Life-work balance, where life comes before work, where you step back, enjoy time with friends and family, and actually have weekends, vacation, and fun. Remember fun?

Now before someone posts a comment saying, “So where’s your sense of life-work balance, Eric, posting to the Blog on a weekend?” Let me assure you it’s well in check as I sit here with a room filled with friends and family watching the Super Bowl pre-game, holding a big bowl of homemade chili made with my favorites: Mrs. Dog’s Dangerously Hot Pepper Sauce and 90K super hot Cayenne pepper, as well as taquitos with salsa and guacamole, nacho platter with the works, desserts, and plenty of other favorites.

So yes, life-work balance is in full swing here in Washington. I just thought I would share wishes with all of you for a great Super Bowl weekend, whether you watch the game or not, and plant the small seed of life-work balance with all of you to remind you all to be sure to step back, relax with family and friends and enjoy life from time to time as life is often far too short and it is so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day whirlwind we all know as work.

Thank you, have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and here’s to some life-work balance. Enjoy!

Eric Ligman
Microsoft US Senior Manager
Small Business Community Engagement
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights