Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance describes the relationship between your work and the commitments in the rest of your life, and how they impact on one another.
In society, employers and governments look to maximise participation in the workforce. Clubs and Club Boards are no exception! However, there is increasing recognition and awareness of the demands modern life is placing on individuals. The responsibilities associated with caring for children, looking after family members with disabilities or aged care needs or maintaining healthy personal relationships take their toll.
On top of these, club managers and club employees are finding it difficult to find time outside work for study, volunteering, taking care of their own health, participating in sport and recreation or just taking time out to relax.
There is no ideal work-life balance; everyone is different and the 'right' balance may alter over time as you grow older and personal commitments change.
Flexibility around how work is organised and completed affords club managers and team members with the options to organise schedules to better fit their commitments. Non-traditional work patterns may be better suited to work and life demands and improve the quality of life. The flow-on effect for clubs is higher morale, more energised club managers and team members, and a dedicated workforce.
In terms of recruitment and team member retention, especially in the competitive and transient hospitality industry, clubs with the capacity to offer flexible work arrangements can attract personnel with higher skills and more experience. Clubs that provide options and offer ways for people to attain work-life balance immediately gain a competitive edge in the labour market by becoming 'employers of choice.'
Whilst clubs can assist their managers and team members with their work-life balance it is primarily up to the individual to juggle the demands of their job and the rest of their lives. As a club manager, you can be a role model and mentor by applying these five (5) methods to bring a little more balance into your daily routine.
1. Build Downtime into Your Schedule
When you plan your week, make a point to schedule time with your family and friends, and block out time to undertake those activities that help you recharge.
If a date night with your spouse or a touch football game with friends is written in your calendar, you'll have something to look forward to and an extra incentive to manage your time well so you don't have to cancel.
"It helps to be proactive about scheduling," says Laura Stack, a productivity expert and author of Super Competent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best. "When I go out with my girlfriends, we all whip out our diaries and put another girls' night out in the calendar for 1 month later."
Stack also plans an activity with her family, like going to a movie or the park, every Sunday afternoon. "We do this because if there's nothing on the schedule, time tends to get frittered away and the weekend may end without us spending quality time together," she says.
Wake up an hour or so earlier and go for a run or spend some time with your kids. Most people tend to wake up, shower, and go straight to work. And they often complain about having no time to do anything. That extra hour or so in the morning can lead to a more productive and peaceful workday.
Beat burnout by making more time for the activities and the people that matter most to you.
2. Drop Activities That Sap Your Time or Energy
Many people waste their time on activities or people that add no value - for example, spending too much time at work with a colleague who is constantly venting and gossiping.
Take stock of activities that don't enhance your career or personal life, and minimise the time you spend on them.
You may even be able to leave work earlier if you make a conscious effort to limit the time you spend on the web and social media sites, making personal calls, or checking your bank balance. We often get sucked into these habits that are making us much less efficient without realising it!
3. Outsource!
Consider whether you can outsource any of your time-consuming household chores.
Could you order your groceries online and have them delivered? Pay a neighbour’s kid to mow your lawn? Get your dry cleaning picked up and dropped off at your home or at the club? Order your clothes online so you don't have to go to the shopping centre?
Even if you're on a tight budget, you may discover that the time you'll save will make it worth it.
‘Trade’ services with friends. Offer to do tasks that you enjoy or that you were planning to do anyway. You could exchange gardening services for cleaning services. If you like to cook, you could prepare and freeze a couple of meals and give them to a friend in exchange for babysitting the kids for a few hours.
4. Get Moving
It's hard to make time for exercise when you have a jam-packed schedule, but it may ultimately help you get more done by boosting your energy level and ability to concentrate.
Research shows exercise can help you to be more alert. When you regularly exercise, you’ll get a real boost in terms of the way you feel for the rest of the day – a clearer head and the acknowledgement that you’ve had a little time to yourself. On the other hand, you’ll notice you feel less alert if you miss a session.
5. Remember That a Little Relaxation Goes a Long Way
Don't assume that you need to make big changes to bring more balance to your life. Set realistic goals, like leaving the club earlier one night per week.
Slowly build more activities into your schedule that are important to you. Maybe you can start by spending an hour a week on your hobby of carpentry, or plan a weekend getaway with your spouse once a year.
Even during a hectic day, you can take 10 or 15 minutes to do something that will recharge your batteries. Take a bath, read a novel, go for a walk, or listen to music. You have to make a little time for the things that ignite your joy.
The Club Managers Association of Australia (CMAA) has been supporting and developing club managers to achieve high levels of leadership and management ability for many years. The training and development of knowledgeable and motivated leaders that are capable of achieving greatness on behalf of their clubs is a passion of the CMAA. To this end, they offer the professional certification - the Active Certified Club Managers Award (ACCM).
Individuals who hold the ACCM, have demonstrated that they possess the skills, have the range of knowledge and can model behaviours that drive premium results for their club.
The foundation stone of the ACCM is the Club Managers Leadership and Management program, an online, training course, delivered by elevateB (a specialist training company) and independently endorsed by Australis College (a Registered Training Organisation)
The Club Managers Leadership and Management program has been modelled on the Diploma of Leadership and Management, ensuring it covers a full gambit of management and leadership topics. Importantly, it has been tailored and contextualised for club environments and day to day club management situations. To successfully complete the program, participants are required to demonstrate required knowledge, skills and abilities through application and activity submissions.
For more information on the Club Managers Leadership and Management program, click here.
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