The Myth of Work-Life Balance
02/09/2024
As consultants in agriculture, we often get asked questions a little outside of our main topics of advice. One of the questions that often comes up in family operations, due to the fact that there are usually more than one cultural generation working together, is the issue of work-life balance.
During the earliest years of the 21st century, Generation X, the newest generation to enter the workforce at that time, began using the term “work-life balance” as a key trait of their preferred workplace. It sounds like a desirable attribute, one that nearly any employee would embrace if given the opportunity. In reality, it is difficult for agricultural companies to deliver on this because there are too many factors affecting the business that are beyond the control of ownership and management.
The best way to explain how work-life balance functions is to visualize the “Toro Teeter Totter” you might have seen at a rodeo. If you haven’t seen one, check out this short video of this wild display of human ingenuity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjJ7mU_Ey4s
Basically, there are two different teeter totters, joined in the middle, perpendicular to each other, and then this contraption is placed in the middle of the arena. Four volunteers are selected from the audience to ride the teeter totters. Sounds innocent, until you realize that there are flags draped below each seat, and a bull is turned loose in the ring. Now it’s interesting.
Rodeo clowns make certain the bull stays close to the riders as they intentionally force the rider opposite them down into the charging animal’s path. The bull has multiple targets and occasionally makes contact, spilling one of the riders, challenging them to get back on their seat or take a direct blow.
It’s not much different than trying to find any type of balance between work and life. Certainly, there are times that we feel a sense of equilibrium, but just like being on a teeter totter that is perfectly flat, it doesn’t stay that way for long. Either the riders get bored at the inactivity or gravity takes over and pulls one side down.
Much like the four-way teeter totter, there are multiple activities going on at the same time and none of the riders are in complete control of the situation, not even their own height off the floor of the arena. Regardless of how hard they try to stay out of the way, other influences beyond their control force them into situations they didn’t choose, and now they must make adjustments to get back to their preferred position.
Visualizing this highly sophisticated version of rural entertainment helps us realize the struggles of trying to maintain anything resembling a balance between our work and family obligations. In addition to this mayhem, we cannot overlook the bull and the clowns. Even if we establish a sense of temporary normalcy in our lives, some clown can come along and disrupt our balanced existence. These clowns come in all forms. Government regulators, anti-agriculture activists, disruptive employees and, unfortunately, even some members of our own family can upend our plans and make a mess of a great business strategy.
The bulls in the arena of life are unpredictable and destructive. Unforeseen and sudden impacts on the markets, 100-year weather events, personal and family health crises, foreign animal disease threats and supply-chain issues can gore and trample a plan that had been working like a well-oiled machine.
Seeking work-life balance is an admirable pursuit that emphasizes the importance of our family as we lead and manage our business in a challenging industry. Some have achieved a version of this balance through perseverance, establishing acceptable expectations, and a high level of cooperation among those involved—and an understanding that work-life balance in the agricultural sector does not look the same as other businesses. They’ve developed a philosophy about their business that accounts for the clowns and the bulls, and takes the appropriate leadership approach to manage them when they try to interfere with their business and family obligations.
Maintaining the appropriate attitude about work-life balance is essential. It provides the ability to enjoy the ride, laugh at the clowns sometimes, and take pleasure in the times that we dodged the bull. We can take more joy in the journey and eventually share the wisdom gained from the ups and downs of the ride.
Let’s do all we can to help our clients enjoy the ride, even if it lacks much balance.
Don Tyler
ASAC Board Member
Tyler & Associates
As consultants in agriculture, we often get asked questions a little outside of our main topics of advice. One of the questions that often comes up in family operations, due to the fact that there are usually more than one cultural generation working together, is the issue of work-life balance.
During the earliest years of the 21st century, Generation X, the newest generation to enter the workforce at that time, began using the term “work-life balance” as a key trait of their preferred workplace. It sounds like a desirable attribute, one that nearly any employee would embrace if given the opportunity. In reality, it is difficult for agricultural companies to deliver on this because there are too many factors affecting the business that are beyond the control of ownership and management.
The best way to explain how work-life balance functions is to visualize the “Toro Teeter Totter” you might have seen at a rodeo. If you haven’t seen one, check out this short video of this wild display of human ingenuity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjJ7mU_Ey4s
Basically, there are two different teeter totters, joined in the middle, perpendicular to each other, and then this contraption is placed in the middle of the arena. Four volunteers are selected from the audience to ride the teeter totters. Sounds innocent, until you realize that there are flags draped below each seat, and a bull is turned loose in the ring. Now it’s interesting.
Rodeo clowns make certain the bull stays close to the riders as they intentionally force the rider opposite them down into the charging animal’s path. The bull has multiple targets and occasionally makes contact, spilling one of the riders, challenging them to get back on their seat or take a direct blow.
It’s not much different than trying to find any type of balance between work and life. Certainly, there are times that we feel a sense of equilibrium, but just like being on a teeter totter that is perfectly flat, it doesn’t stay that way for long. Either the riders get bored at the inactivity or gravity takes over and pulls one side down.
Much like the four-way teeter totter, there are multiple activities going on at the same time and none of the riders are in complete control of the situation, not even their own height off the floor of the arena. Regardless of how hard they try to stay out of the way, other influences beyond their control force them into situations they didn’t choose, and now they must make adjustments to get back to their preferred position.
Visualizing this highly sophisticated version of rural entertainment helps us realize the struggles of trying to maintain anything resembling a balance between our work and family obligations. In addition to this mayhem, we cannot overlook the bull and the clowns. Even if we establish a sense of temporary normalcy in our lives, some clown can come along and disrupt our balanced existence. These clowns come in all forms. Government regulators, anti-agriculture activists, disruptive employees and, unfortunately, even some members of our own family can upend our plans and make a mess of a great business strategy.
The bulls in the arena of life are unpredictable and destructive. Unforeseen and sudden impacts on the markets, 100-year weather events, personal and family health crises, foreign animal disease threats and supply-chain issues can gore and trample a plan that had been working like a well-oiled machine.
Seeking work-life balance is an admirable pursuit that emphasizes the importance of our family as we lead and manage our business in a challenging industry. Some have achieved a version of this balance through perseverance, establishing acceptable expectations, and a high level of cooperation among those involved—and an understanding that work-life balance in the agricultural sector does not look the same as other businesses. They’ve developed a philosophy about their business that accounts for the clowns and the bulls, and takes the appropriate leadership approach to manage them when they try to interfere with their business and family obligations.
Maintaining the appropriate attitude about work-life balance is essential. It provides the ability to enjoy the ride, laugh at the clowns sometimes, and take pleasure in the times that we dodged the bull. We can take more joy in the journey and eventually share the wisdom gained from the ups and downs of the ride.
Let’s do all we can to help our clients enjoy the ride, even if it lacks much balance.
Don Tyler
ASAC Board Member
Tyler & Associates
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