Work-Life Balance for C-Level Executives – TINShed Recap

The benefits of exercise for maintaining perspective, importance of delegation to a trusted colleague and celebration of cultural differences can all help in achieving and maintaining work-life balance, according to our recent TINShed — Work-Life Balance for C-Level Executives — held at TIN partner EY’s Auckland offices last week. Panelists Les Kendall, CEO of Temperzone and Julie Perry, CFO of Buckley Systems, led the discussion around identifying self-help measures as part of the quest for work-life balance. Making time for self-awareness — which some achieve through meditation — employing breathing techniques to help allay stress, creating a fun work environment and regulating the use of technology, both in and out of work time, were among the other measures that attendees identified had helped them create equilibrium and alleviate pressure in their working lives.

On the challenges of maintaining a consistent, supportive work culture in the face of unprecedented staff growth, Christine Fenby, Marketing Director, Vista Group, said, “One of the things Vista has always enjoyed is a fantastic culture. It’s a family orientated company; people are cooperative, friendly and genuinely like each other. With our growth and rise in employing different nationalities we’re continuing to focus on how we incorporate people from different cultural backgrounds into our working environment and engender company loyalty from our teams. It’s a challenge brought about by change, but one we’re excited to work with our people on. It means different and more varied measures to ensure everyone continues to be passionate about our culture at Vista and our success; everyone benefits.”

While some companies may strive to keep to fixed work hours as a way of encouraging work-life balance, this isn’t always practical for all. Kunal Barghava, Director Program Management, PowerbyProxi, said, “There are instances when our people have to work very long hours, and in those cases we have to support them. We’ve taken a lot of values from books such as those about the All Blacks – how it’s all about working for your team and peers. Our people realise they’re putting in the extra effort not just to help their company succeed, but to help their peers. I think it’s also important to balance it out – when you have a period that’s not so busy, you encourage people to take time out, and to feel good about it.”