It’s holiday season but switching off when you clock off for that well-earned summer break isn’t always easy. Liz Riley talks to three members about what helps them switch from work-mode to holiday zen
Ronan Dunne
Strategic Advisor at Verizon
Chair of Six Nations Rugby
I don’t tend to think about work when I’m not working – and I’ve found this easier to do over time – but I also need to be responsive.
I check-in regularly on work emails and messages to make sure no one is having their own work-life balance disrupted because they are waiting for me to respond or advise.
When I have trouble switching off from my workday, I tend to take one of two approaches:
Technology: I have found that new tools on mobile devices allow you to set them to sleep mode or switch from work to personal mode, because they help to reduce ‘device distraction’. These options also let your contacts know if you have notifications switched off.
Personal: I have a few go-to distractions that help me switch off. I like to watch sports (any sport – live or on TV) and I also like playing sports, mostly golf and tennis.
I think the pandemic helped ease me into a better transition from work to home-life. It has enabled me to be more flexible about where and when I work.
I spent eight weeks during the summer of 2020 living in Dublin while working US hours. This meant I could see my parents every morning “before work.”
Luckily, this summer I was able to get away and spend a lovely week in West Cork where I took part in a board meeting one afternoon from my room – a great advertisement for the importance and impact of good rural connectivity.
Roseann Heavey
Partner at Noone Casey
In finance, I think it can be difficult to find a work-life balance, but I also believe that work-life balance means different things to different people.
In private practice, servicing many clients across a range of industries, all with different needs, means there will be times when even the best planned-out day takes a change of direction.
For me, I look at my work-life balance over a month or a quarter. If I can look back over this time and know that I prioritised correctly, while meeting my deadlines and goals, I feel I’m on the right track.
This can be challenging at times. You can’t be everywhere at once and there are only so many hours in a week. If you can prioritise, manage time well and stick to your goals, the balance will come over time.
To help myself disconnect, I document my workday and schedule, and ensure I can cross items off my to-do list. This allows me to be in control knowing that – at a minimum – the plan for the week must be completed.
This way, once the workday is over, there is nothing more I can do until the next day. I can switch off and focus on what is important to me outside work.
The pandemic has, without a doubt, helped me to separate my work and home life. Even though I am working the same number of hours, there is more flexibility. Saving time commuting or travelling across the city and country for meetings allows me to have a more productive week and still deliver a high-quality service.
Face-to-face meetings are still important, but it is about finding the right balance for the firm and our clients.
Edel Hayes
Founder of Accelerate
Accounting Solutions
For me, the most challenging aspect of work-life balance is setting and maintaining boundaries. This is a skill a lot of us have had to learn over the last few years as the lines between work and home have become blurred.
I tend to set clear boundaries with clients and team members as soon as we engage with each other. I’m upfront about the hours I work, so that my clients are clear on what days and times I will be available to take calls and respond to emails.
The challenge comes in maintaining these boundaries when they are pushed by other people. I find the key is to be unapologetic.
A lot of my clients work in industries that require them to work outside traditional office hours. The expectation that someone should be sitting at a desk all day has lessened in recent years, however.
I don’t have too much trouble switching off from work at the end of the day, but I’ve developed good practices to help me. My laptop stays at my office unless it’s a busy time of the year. I don’t take calls or check emails after 5pm. When I’m working, I’m 100 percent at work and, when I’m home, I try to be 100 percent at home.
At the beginning, the pandemic did hinder my ability to separate my work and home life. It takes a certain set of skills and habits to maintain the boundaries we need for a healthy balance.
I took three weeks off from my business this year to visit family in the US we hadn’t seen since 2019. While I did bring my laptop with me, I can honestly say I didn’t open it once.
This was down to a lot of planning beforehand and making sure my clients and my team were all up to speed before I left. It really did feel amazing.