Rebecca recently moderated a work/life balance panel discussion as part of her work on the University of Florida PR Advisory Council. This issue of PR Matters gives you a condensed version of "Making the Business Case: How to Sell Work/Life Balance Solutions to Management."

Enjoy!

Making the Business Case: How to Sell Work/Life Balance Solutions to Management

With the adoption of advanced business tools, like the BlackBerry, wireless Internet connections and the omnipresence of cell phones, professionals are more connected to the workplace than ever before – which can make it even more difficult to know when work ends and when leisure actually begins.

To address these and other concerns, The University of Florida PR Advisory Council Work-Life Committee was formed to provide tools, advice and role models.

“For me, balance is about finding joy in whatever you’re doing,” said panelist Cheryl I. Procter-Rogers, APR, Fellow PRSA, PRSA’s 2006 president and CEO. “When you’re at work, you’re not thinking about what you didn’t get done at home and vice versa. You can have it all. You can do it all —just not in one day and probably not all in one season.”

Additional perspectives and tips are outlined below:

David Albritton, Director, Media Relations, Raytheon Company, Arlington, Va.
“I don’t think you ever really have work/life balance. What you have is work/life choice. You’re at the whim of either internal or external clients. Plus when you add in our 24-hour news cycle, you have to sometimes make sacrifices to meet those needs. Sometimes the solutions can work in your favor; for instance, flextime situations often work well when you’re servicing clients in different time zones.”

Albritton’s tip: Leverage your own life experiences so you can find the balance that works for you. Some days you may work eight hours, some days 12 hours and some days 15 hours — it depends on what your employer requires and your corporate culture. But also recognize you have vacation time, and make sure to use it in a way that benefits your family.

Kim Sams, APR, Walt Disney World Conservation Initiatives, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“You can take advantage of flexibility without your career suffering, but you have to have earned that opportunity. For the first 10 years of my career, I worked all the time and my work was my life. Then I had a baby, and had to make some changes in the nature of my job. It wasn’t the right time in my life for certain projects.”

Sams’ tip: These days, it’s all about retaining top talent. If you’re a great employee, your organization is going to be more flexible because they want to retain you. Technology has made it easier, but you must also master influencing how you articulate your point of view in a way to get others to believe you.

Read full story from PR Tactics

Thanks to everyone who participated in the panel. Look for more news from our Spring meeting in March, 2007.

Hart & Partners News

Rebecca recently received the "Ray Bullard" Award from the North Florida chapter of PRSA (see photo above). The Ray Bullard Award recognizes a chapter member for outstanding contributions to public relations through service and accomplishment.

Other award winners included:
President’s Award – Jay Magee
Building Bridges Award – Odette Struys
Rising Star Award – Bill Kral
Student Promise Award - Adriana Sicari

At the upcoming North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC), we will be announcing that our panel of veterinarians (www.thevetzone.com) has reached the five-year mark and has awarded more than $100,000 in incentives for participating in research surveys. Read more.

As a "labor of love" Rebecca has created a website for her brother, who is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. He writes weekly columns, which have recently been featured in the Florida Times-Union, among other newspapers. View Times-Union column or View Desert Diary website

Finally, if you are interested in what the family has been up to this year, you can view our holiday letter and photos.

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Quote

"I like what is in work - the chance to find yourself."

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
Polish-born English novelist

Until next time,

Rebecca Hart, APR
President, Hart & Partners

Comments and questions may be directed to info@hartandpartners.com.
Or you can call anytime: (904) 246-7351.