By Christan M. Thomas
Press Business Writer
Johnson City Press 7/13/06
www.johnsoncitypress.com
cthomas@johnsoncitypress.com

With the ever-increasing demand to "have it all" — to perform at work and to still make time for family and self — executives and businesspeople are finding themselves caught in a balancing act. In a technology-driven workplace, those devices designed to make life and work easier can both help and hinder the effort.

The wide availability of broadband Internet access, wireless technology, PDAs, smart phones and laptops allow employees to telework from virtually anywhere. On the plus side, this means that businesspeople who may have chosen to stay at home or have been forced to leave the work force — such as new parents, those caring for an ailing relative or even people relocating to another location from their current job — can work remotely. It also means that there is even less of a separation between work and home life. Those executives and others already working long hours now find themselves available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to technology.

"We're in deep trouble because technology isn't fun anymore," said Natalie Manor, president and CEO of Natalie Manor and Associates — an organization of consultants, corporate trainers and executive coaching professionals in the areas of leadership and communication. "We don't want all of this. We don't want to deal with it 24/7, but we've just now found that out ... There is no private time. There is a beeper and a cell phone and wireless and all that. We are constantly in touch, and we really liked that. Now we don't."

Cyndy Woodall, transcription director for Eagle's Landing Transcription Service's operations in Atlanta, left a top managerial position in 1999 feeling exhausted and out of balance.

"My position for the previous six years involved an extensive amount of company traveling, 12- to 14-hour workdays being the norm and not the exception, and being on call 24/7," Woodall said. "Not only was I physically exhausted, I was mentally and emotionally drained, also. I promised myself and my husband I'd never again allow myself to be put in a position of such authority that I felt I had to be available."

Woodall now works full time from home and telecommutes to Johnson City-based Eagle's Landing. Eagle's Landing provides medical transcription for clients in nine states across the country. Most of its employees, who are scattered across 13 states, work from home behind secure firewalls.

Woodall said she took her first teleworking job in order to take care of her stepson and, eventually, her ailing mother. Teleworking, she said, offers flexibility in her own life that a traditional office job would not.

Full- or part-time teleworkers, like Woodall, make up a growing sector of businesspeople in the United States. In fact, one of the main reasons cited by those who telework is to achieve a greater work/life balance.

A survey by the International Telework Society and Council based on research by the Dieringer Research Group found that out of 135.4 million American workers at some point in 2005, 45.1 million worked from home;

24.3 million people worked at a client's or customer's place of business; 20.6 million worked in their car; 16.3 million worked while on vacation; 15.1 million worked at a park or outdoor location; and 7.8 million worked while on a train or airplane.

One plus of teleworking is that it cuts back on driving stresses and saves on high gas prices. It allows time normally spent commuting to be spent in other pursuits. In fact, teleworkers save an average of nearly an hour a day by working remotely.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spend more than 100 hours a year commuting to work. That's equivalent to two and a half full-time workweeks. In 2004, the average commuter spent 24.7 minutes traveling to work, one way. Statewide, Tennessee ranked 24th for length of commute, with an average travel time of 23.2 minutes each way.

Despite the obvious pluses of teleworking and using technology to find work/life balance, there are some drawbacks. Manor stresses the need for preparing oneself to work outside the office setting and separating the normal home duties from office work.

"I think there's several different ways to look at it (teleworking),"

Manor said. "For people who want flex time, I think it's a wonderful benefit for retention. There's a psychological side of that, too ...

There's not any training going on, that I know of, on how to effectively use your time. When people say they want their flex time and telecommuting time, when they walk in the door there's still the dishes and the vacuuming and what not. I think if you can carve out a spot and find the balance you can do that."

Elisa Comer is the executive director of Eagle's Landing and works from home the majority of her workweek. Comer said she began medical transcription from home when her first children, twins, were born, so she could be home with them. Comer and her husband both work mostly from a home office, though they also have a central office for the business.

Comer has a designated office space in her home, and said if the door is shut, her children know not to interrupt unless it is an emergency. If her children are home from school, Comer said she works quite a bit before they get up and after they go to bed.

Whether working in a typical office or from a remote location, Comer said finding work/life balance can at times be difficult and must be a conscious choice.

"I think a lot of people don't really have a good idea of what working at home is all about," Comer said. "For some reason they think they can work Monday through Friday 9 to 5 and get as much done and stay as focused as they can in an office. That's just not true. You've got children, you've got the dog, and you've got the neighbor mowing the grass. Things happen.

"It is challenging to find what works for you. You have to set your boundaries. You've got to want it, and if you want it you'll find a way to make it happen."