b'CAREER GUIDE|professionals. This dynamic also brings tocorrectly and therefore place the individual atthis type of information to their employer due light what might be the most fundamentalrisk for an unbalanced life and work schedule.to fear of looking inferior or the assumption questions when it comes to assessing work- Hiring the right person and recognizing thethat nothing will change. As a result, negative life balance: Who is at most fault for the linestalent of the individual is up to the employer,emotions start escalating and the employee being blurred (employer or employee?) andand employers are supposed to hire employ- may become resentful or dissatisfied with whose inherent responsibility is it to try toees for positionsthat require specific skill setstheir job. But an employer should understand avoid that blurring? and personalities to match that role, he said.the importance of a work-life balance and The employer also needs to understand thathow it impacts work performance.TUNING IN TO THE TONE employees with a balanced life will ultimately David G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD,be more productive, as well as happier andAVOIDING COMMON MISTAKESprofessor of surgery and director of theloyal.There are some warning signs that can signal Southwestern Academic Limb SalvageThere is a two-way route to responsibil- an imbalance in work-life. Bell says that the Alliance (SALSA) and professor of clinicality, however, Bell said. The bottom line isfollowing could be causes of concern: Generally speaking, todays workers are more productive than theyve ever been, particularly because technology has exponentially increased the rate of production and speed at which business occurssurgery at the Keck School of Medicine of thetheremust always be some personal account- Not putting family first. As hard as it University of Southern California, believesability, and employees must also recog- seems at times, make the time to make that the onus of establishing the baseline fornize they have a responsibility to performyour family the priority, not the second work-life balance rests with the employer. their jobs as if they were the employer. Theor third most important focus of your The employer has to set the tone, the rulesemployeroften tends to carry the brunt of theday, he says.of engagement, and the environment, hestresses and pressures commensurate withNot letting your job define who you said. I think all too often, in the United Statestheir position.But aresponsible employee canare.We all have our jobs to do, and especially, we feel the need to be the first per- and should be an asset to help minimize suchhow you go about your work is what will son to clock in and the last person to clockstress. The employee should also recognizeearn respect from others and yourself, out. For some of us, whether were workingthat performing their duties optimally andhe said.Respect and be true to yourself in an office or the clinic, thats virtually whatconscientiously makes them better beyondalways.is happening.the workplace, and assists in having betterOther bad habits that Pepe sees include: While there is some responsibility onwork-life balance. Bringing work home. Sometimes its the part of the employees to not constantlyWhile Lauren Pepe, RN, president of theinevitable, especially if you work on-call, attempt to prove themselves as the hardestAmerican Nephrology Nurses Association,she says, However, at the end of a work working employee who ever lived, there alsoagrees, she does see more of a 50/50 splitday its best to avoid responding to needs to be an environment thats conducivebetween employer and employee bound- emails and texts that are work-related to the mentality that it is OK for some thingsary-setting. Employers may tend to putwhen at home.to wait to the next day, you can go home, andwork demands on the employee withoutConsistently working overtime. It may that its not a race to be back at work the fol- much regard to how it may affect their per- feel good to make more money, but not lowing day.sonal life, but if and when the work respon- when the cost is your health or time with Desmond Bell, DPM, CWS, a physiciansibilities increase or become overwhelmingyour loved ones, Pepe said.practicing in the Jacksonville, FL region, saysto the point that it affects the employees per-that employers also have a responsibility tosonal life, it is incumbent upon that personPRACTICING HEALTHY HABITShire staff appropriately so that inordinateto communicate this with their direct super- At some point, the employee must be willing numbers of hours are not needed to do the jobvisor. Often people do not want to discloseto practice healthy habits in order to avoid an 6 CAREER GUIDE|2020| www.elitecme.com'