Part of bucking the normal business system ingrained in today's society involves a systems approach on the role of family. For most businesses, work is work and family is family. There's very little to no crossover in strategic thinking or in the tactical operations of daily operations.
Most business discourages such interaction. There exists a thick concrete wall between the two with only a network or phone cable that passes through. Outside of an occasional email or phone call to a spouse or other family member, family is an undesired interruption to most work environments.
Beyond communication, the societal norm for businesses is to push family to second in the totem pole of values. Work harder. Work longer hours. Your family comes second. At least that is the message that I've observed across many industries and over many years. In fact, I've been guilty of perpetuating this philosophy at points of my career.
What I just described is the current (and aging) way of thinking. It's the fragmented, disjointed, and small-minded thinking that is commonplace in today's corporate environment.
It's time to buck the system but making such a change within society is a two-way street. One way is the business owners and managers. Heading in the opposite direction are the team members (employees).
As business owners and managers, a necessary component of creating a work environment flooded with fully devoted team members requires a new level of holistic, systems-based thinking. Your mind must extend beyond the walls of your corporate office building and beyond the hours of 8AM to 5PM. The boundary of your business system does not stop within the office nor is it constrained to work hours.
Opening your mind to a larger system will help you to understand how the pressures and demands of work affect your team members at home. For your team to have optimal effectiveness at work, the impact of work on their family life needs to be considered in your demands, systems, benefits, and more.
If you are an employee, you deserve more. Stop relegating yourself to the antiquated mindset in which you have to "turn it on" at work. Work is not separate from the rest of your life. It's all one big system. You are responsible to carve out a work environment for yourself that allows you to optimize your life as a whole. If you cannot do so at your current place of employment, then it's time to leave.
Doing business in the same 'ole way is will garner the same 'ole results. Do you want team members who are burned out, hate their job, and can't wait for Friday to roll around? Or would you prefer fully devoted team members who would give anything to help your company because they know that such help is a two-way street? It is time for you to start thinking differently. Buck the system.
