Having spent the whole of my professional life working in an industry where every minute is accounted for and timesheets are second nature; it’s not surprising that you learn to always have one eye on the clock and not always for the right reason.
When I started in marketing and PR, email was still the reserve of the desktop domain. Being on deadline involved sitting at your desk awaiting that all-important sign off before you could leave the office for the day.
Fast forward 10 years. With the rise of smartphones and tablet technology making us all available 24/7, this non-stop way of working is now a given in most industries. Or is it?
Looking back at my naïve and eager to please younger self, the benefit of hindsight shows me that actually, nobody asked me to be the last person in the office. Nobody told me I had to be available at the weekends or late into the evenings. I made myself available - and willingly.
There we have it. In a misplaced attempt to prove my commitment, I created a way of working, on reflection, is almost impossible to reverse.
I probably realised about three years in that I had got it wrong. Colleagues would be leaving the office at the official “clocking off” time and I would be sitting there dealing with additional demands sent my way because apparently my working day no longer had an official end time. The extra effort to be recognised had now become the expectation.
Had I actually gained anything in terms of career progression by putting in all these extra hours? Possibly. Was it enough of a payback in terms of what I sacrificed? Definitely not.
The same applies to holidays. Not taking holidays or answering emails when on holiday should not be confused with being committed, or indeed being good at your job.
True commitment to your career means performing to the best of your ability at all times and going above and beyond the call of duty, when required.
In an age where technology blurs the lines of work, rest and play, it is even more important to set boundaries you are happy with when it comes to your personal life and career ambitions.
I don’t regret my approach to work as it has helped me to get where I am today, but I do feel my efforts were often misplaced and misguided. It really isn’t about the number of hours you work or how many holidays you don’t take.
It’s about being effective and managing expectations. And while I really wanted to avoid using clichés, there is no better way to sum up my advice than saying “start as you mean to go on”. It is so much harder to change your approach once a way of working has become a way of life.
Louise Matthews is a technical marketing and PR consultant
