At Turner, we understand the importance of maintaining a healthy balance
between your work and your personal time. We are each pulled in many
directions - striving to succeed at work, spending time with family and
friends, contributing to our community, and having time for ourselves.
These kinds of personal issues and priorities can make life in general
more stressful, and can affect job performance.
To address these challenges,
we have created the Turner Work/Life Center. Here you will find useful
articles and tips to help you manage your workload and personal priorities.
Work/Life Balance Newsletters
Co-produced with Jim Bird, a leading HR
expert and creator of worklifebalance.com, each newsletter offers valuable
tips, such as making time for exercise, friends, and family. The newsletters
also include a column spotlighting a different Turner employee each month
and their personal Work/Life Balance lesson.
Peter Hamill, Lisa Ballantyne and Kent Kunkel work
in the Boston business unit. Hamill is deputy operations manager,
Ballantyne is SPD Operations Manager, and Kunkel is Manager of Business
Development.
Ken Leach is executive Vice President of the Turner
Construction Company responsible for the Western region. He's based
in the Los Angeles office.
Turner Tips
Sometimes, the best advice comes from someone
who has "been there, done that." Read the tips below to learn how some
Turner colleagues have improved their Work/Life Balance.
Quadrant
Idea
Self
I like Steven Covey's Book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People . In his book, the seventh habit is "sharpening
our saws." He says, "if I am busy producing (at
work) or sawing, and rarely take time to sharpen my saw, eventually
my saw won't cut." In order to be effective at work,
we need self renewal.
Self renewal for me comes by exercise, family involvement, hobbies,
and spiritual input. When these priorities are maintained,
producing at work is much easier.
Self
I have found that taking up a hobby helps me to balance my life
and my career by giving me the ability to turn off work and focus
on something different. The break is invaluable, especially during
the tough weeks!
Family
While I love the convenience of my BlackBerry, my husband
began complaining of playing "second" to it. I began turning
it off at 8:00 pm every night at first to make him happy. Then I
found that I was more able to relax and enjoy my family when I wasn't
subconciously waiting for it to buzz. With the help of my TSE, I
was able to set it so it automatically stops receiving messages at
8:00 pm and starts receiving them at 7:00 am, while allowing the
phone to continue working in case of emergency.
Work
When I first started at Turner, I was so excited and ready to tackle
any project that came my way. Then I found myself biting off
more than I can chew, but everything was so interesting! That's
how I discovered the benefit of asking for help when I need it. That
way, I can still tackle the interesting projects, and find time to
sleep at night! And, I find that the projects benefit from the input
of other people --a win, win situation!
Friends/Community
I have a circle of friends that are in similar professions (marketing).
We all love to read, so we started a book club where we meet once
a month and talk about work...I mean a BOOK...over dinner and wine.
Each of us takes turns hosting or selecting the venue to keep it
interesting.
It really helps to see their perspectives and get their advice. When
I get stressed at work, I find myself making mental notes to bring
up the event at the next meeting!
Friends/Community
I really enjoy helping other people. It helps me put my own situation
into perspective, and I get a "rush" from knowing I have
made a difference. Turner has provided me with a lot of the skills
that I use in my charity work, and even helps to fund
some of the projects! It makes me feel good about myself, and about
my job!
Work
I work with a great crew! When a job requires overtime, we set up a schedule and "take turns" pulling the weekend/evening shifts so it isn't always the same person. It is usually pretty easy to set this schedule around events like family trips and baseball games. Even when it doesn't work out smoothly, we find a way to compromise. So far, it has been very smooth, and makes us all appreciate each other and enjoy our jobs.
Family
Recently I attended a Turner instructor led training class,
and one of the guys next to me talked about how he has a "date
night with his wife every week". I have been trying to do
the same thing and you know what -- it works! I leave the job at
4:00 promptly every Wednesday, my wife and I plan what restaurant
we want to go to in advance and we spend one-on-one time with each
other, not talking about the job or work stuff, just about our
lives, the children, our elderly parents. Our marriage has a new
spark, and my job seems to be a little less stressful, because
I have a special time to discuss those husband wife things.
Oh, I also wanted to mention that the other 3 Turner staff people
on the job also have their night when they leave promptly at 4:00
to have their "date" or whatever might be important to
them. We're a little better as a team now as well.
Self
As a new experienced hire at Turner the idea of
work / life balance is a new concept to me. There may be some initial
steps to evaluate your own situation and assess where more balance
is needed. Could your health be better with some added exercise /
meditation? Could your marriage be better with a "date night" as
suggested by others? Could your relationship with your children improve
with more quality time? Could your work performance improve and be
less stressful? All these and more questions should be probed when
deciding how to create balance.
Family
My dedication to work nearly destroyed many of my family relationships a few years back, including my marriage. Our commitment to date night every week has held our marriage together.
Everyone should be involved in some type of extracurricular work activities, but too much is worse than none at all. Our culture of working late just to be noticed or to make a good impression has to end. Our business is about results, not effort.
Whether you're single or both your spouse and you work during daytime hours, unfortunately many things require attention or appointments during those same business hours. A flexible schedule with the understanding of responsibilities and results is critical. Each of us has responsibilities inside and outside of Turner to manage, and each is important to ensure balance and results.
At Turner, we understand the importance of maintaining a healthy balance
between your work and your personal time. We are each pulled in many
directions - striving to succeed at work, spending time with family and
friends, contributing to our community, and having time for ourselves.
These kinds of personal issues and priorities can make life in general
more stressful, and can affect job performance.