Our Board Chair, John Dwyer, is the President of Cricket Wireless, as well as a husband and father.
In the article below, he weighs in on how to maintain a fulfilling work-life balance in our 'always on' society.
Be Intentional About Leading an Integrated Life without Borders #OutsideWork
Work-life balance often implies that a border should exist between your office life and personal one. The society we are evolving into doesn’t always reflect that reality. In fact, lifestyle trends are moving us to being more integrated than divided – a collage of life activity that touches one another and creates a meaningful identity.
There’s a company that allows you to travel the world for an entire year, while working remotely alongside a small group of other people. It’s a life without borders in the literal and symbolic sense.
Technology, like laptops, smartphones and Wi-Fi connectivity, has enabled the possibility of building personal and professional relationships while seeing the globe in one seamless experience.
That small group is intentionally choosing to live integrated lives, where borders that separate the office and the life outside of it simply don’t exist. As enticing as it sounds, that’s not something I’m ready to take on right now, because I absolutely love my job. At Cricket, we’re working everyday to transform an industry.
The good news is you don’t have to travel the world to lead the path of an integrated life.
As the president of Cricket, who is also a husband and father of two children, I am conscious of how integrated my life has become, operating a 24/7 business that doesn't sleep. So it's not surprising to me that my work impacts how I spend my time outside of it.
As an example, every month, I have breakfast with Jack Harris, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Georgia. Through my previous role at AT&T, Cricket’s parent company, I was given the privilege of serving as chair of Jack’s board of directors. He is the innovative leader of this ground-breaking nonprofit, which provides thousands of students across the state opportunities to learn the importance of personal financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Like Cricket, Junior Achievement of Georgia is trying to serve more people and enrich more lives. In order to do that, they have to scale operations, make smart investments, and hire strategically – things we do at Cricket every day.
It is incredibly rewarding to tap into my experiences at work to help Jack and his organization strategically plan for the future. I get to share with him the knowledge and best practices we, as a company, have learned along the way to help realize Junior Achievement’s mission. I believe it is an absolute blessing to work at a company that, not only allows, but also encourages this type of involvement.
It makes me proud that my lives inside and outside work can fuel one another.
As a result, Cricket has made me better at work and more personally fulfilled in life. The same goes for the thousands of employees also inspired by Junior Achievement, who are committed to its growth and success.
For the last two decades, employees representing business units across AT&T’s family of brands have entered into a friendly competition to raise thousands of dollars for Junior Achievement. Last year, it was $315,000 with Cricket employees accounting for 41 percent of the amount. Raising that kind of money often requires commitment outside their normal workday.
A dedication to community and youth empowerment transcends their lives at work and outside of it. Our employees are leading integrated lives, too.
The result is that I get to work alongside like-minded individuals, who afford me the opportunity to build personal and professional relationships in one seamless experience.
I’m intentionally living my own version of an integrated life without borders, which invigorates my work in exciting ways.
My advice is to not be afraid to redefine the concept of work-life balance and lead an integrated life that brings you fulfillment and purpose to, not just one, but all parts of your life holistically.
See the original post here.