Name a more qualified person to talk about the importance of work-life balance than someone fresh off maternity leave. I’ll wait.
When I interviewed with Skellig, I told them I only wanted to work 40 hours a week. I was not looking for a position where I’d have to “pay my dues” (a quote from an ex-manager at an ex-company). I was burnt out and tired of working at all.
At Skellig, a company that didn’t know a damned thing about me yet that wasn’t on my resume, my statement was met with, “Great! We don’t want you to work over 40.” I smiled and part of me was relieved, but the other part thought…yeah right.
Three of the busiest years in the Life Sciences industry later, I still haven’t been forced to work more than 40 hours a week. It’s always my call.
Why was work-life balance important to me? I was newly married and leaving a company that worked me to the bone AND paid me poorly. It was December of 2020—I had just spent nine months thinking and talking about the importance of health, happiness, and time with loved ones. The company I worked for did not value those things for me, so it was time for a change.
As someone who is most productive while working remotely, I wanted to continue working from home and reduce my likelihood of commuting. Honestly, I wanted to stop working period, but I liked having a roof over my head and groceries on the table. Without that option, I knew I needed to work somewhere that respected my life outside of the office. I wanted to be able to enjoy my 5PM dog walk, my weekend trips to the farmers market, and my evenings with my husband without worrying about being reprimanded for only putting “snowmen” on my timesheet.
Snowmen. That’s what they call the figure 8s on your timesheet when you work a “standard” workday.
With four years under my belt, I knew Life Sciences was a rewarding—occasionally frustrating—industry that could pay the bills. I didn’t hate it and most of the people I worked with were good, honest people. But I didn’t live to work, I worked to live—I loved my life outside of work. So, before I started work with Skellig, I made sure they knew I would always prioritize my 128 non-working hours over my 40 working hours. And Skellig made it easy to do that.
Joining Skellig helped me cope and heal my burnout. My mindset changed. Instead of being defined by my job, my job enabled what I really wanted from life. I stopped dreading Sunday evenings and Monday mornings. I stopped worrying if my vacation requests would be declined. I found my long-lost motivation, when I thought it was gone for good.
I continued to work with great people on great projects. When everyone around you values their personal time and is trying to do their best for the customer (not best for the company), they work hard to get the work done during the working day and then sign off. Working with other not-burnt-out people is so much more enjoyable and productive than working with people who have long since given up.
Don’t let me fool you, I’ve worked overtime in the 3 years I’ve worked for Skellig. It hasn’t been often and usually it’s met with questions from HR: “Is this situation going to be going on for a while? Are you okay with this?” I’ve also asked to be removed from projects that didn’t respect my work-life balance and, sure enough, I was removed without complaint. Knowing that my personal time is revered and protected by Skellig makes working extra more bearable.
Now that I’ve had my first child and I’m returning to work, the 128 non-working hours in a week are even more valuable to me than they were before. The 40 hours I’m away from my daughter will be hard, but I can sleep well at night knowing Skellig will support me in keeping those 128 hours sacred. I don’t have to worry about forced overtime or weekends spent working. I don’t have to worry about being burnt out and not being able to be present in my daughter’s life when I’m off the clock.
I am confident I will be able to enjoy every moment I’m not working because, 3 years ago, I changed my mindset and prioritized work-life balance. For 3 years I have been burnout free.