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Inspiration
Maintaining work-life harmony
any of us in the payments industry were situ- occasion, for instance, to attend a crucial Zoom meet-
ated in home offices long before the onset of ing or webinar, you do not have to be available at all
the COVID-19 pandemic when huge swaths times of day and night to accommodate schedules of
M of people set up home offices for the first colleagues across the globe.
time. While some companies have now called employees
back to their offices for all or part of the work week, many 4. Since you are not commuting to a different location
plan to continue with remote working arrangements. by car, bike, bus or foot, you do not have the transition
period these commutes inherently provide. Consider
Some people working from home have mastered the work- devising your own type of transition period to get you
life balancing act; others are straining to make it work to mentally prepared to begin your work day. Some ideas
their satisfaction. Many are somewhere in between. include walking or jogging around the block, listen-
ing to an inspirational podcast or music that energizes
Five suggestions you, brushing your dog if you have one, or tending
I recently gave my home-office routine a tune up. As a your garden for a short time. At the end of the day, it's
result, here are five suggestions to keep in mind. a good idea to also create a short transition period, to
get you into your home mindset.
1. Work-life balance means different things to differ-
ent people. A solo entrepreneur living alone will have 5. If you supervise a group of employees who are
different requirements than a mother of three work- working remotely, find ways to recognize team mem-
ing for a corporation, for example. So don't assume bers to lessen the chance they will become isolated.
what works for you will work for a teammate and vice This could mean periodic Zoom check-ins, phone
versa. calls, even emails that boost people's spirits. Letting
your team members know you appreciate the effort
2. Whenever possible, work in a room or area of your they continue to put into the business will go a long
home that is dedicated to your business, and set your way toward keeping morale high.
regular business hours and stick to them. This means
if you live with other people, limit interruptions, mak- As we all continue to find ways to do our best work
ing it clear they must respect your work time just like whether in a corporate office or at home, if we observe
they would if you were working outside the home. what works and what doesn't and adapt accordingly, we
This, of course, will be more difficult when children will succeed no matter what changes come our way.
are involved, in which case, work and home activities
will likely become integrated in creative ways—a true
juggling act.
3. You may end up collaborating with people working
in different time zones, so their work-day hours won't
correspond with yours. Keep in mind that, while you Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
may work outside of your normal business hours on
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