Jamie Biesiada
How has your work-life balance been lately?
For many travel advisors, I wouldn't be surprised to hear responses like, "What work-life balance?" It's a job that requires a lot of time, especially in a world where constant communication has become the norm.
That's one of the reasons it's so important to set boundaries. Boundaries were the sole topic of a recent episode of the "Trade Secrets" podcast featuring Host Agency Reviews (HAR) founder Stephanie Lee.
"Americans are known for our hard work ethic," Lee said. "And it's really nice to be able to say, 'Yes, I take pride in what I do,' which I very much do. I'm very passionate about all we do here at HAR, but that's not my whole life -- and it shouldn't be my whole life."
My co-host Emma Weissmann and I decided to tackle the topics of boundaries and balance because travel advisor burnout is something we hear about frequently. We chose Lee as a guest on the podcast because we both remembered a job listing she posted several years ago. What stuck in both of our minds was how explicit the posting was about encouraging balance.
Lee remembered the posting, too.
"I don't hire very often," she said, and "I put a lot of time and effort into my job descriptions."
She wants to make sure she's attracting the right kind of candidates and finds that a detailed job description helps.
"We really believe in a strong work-life balance," Lee said.
One practice she employs to encourage that: team members are paid hourly, instead of with a salary. Lee said she would pay them the same amount either way, but by making them hourly employees, they tend not to work beyond 40 hours per week. If they do, she said, she talks to them to encourage more balance.
"I think it's an easy way to put boundaries in and make sure you're not overstressing your staff," Lee said.
One of the listener questions Lee fielded was how advisors can balance growing their business while, at the same time, growing themselves.
Lee cautioned that a career as an advisor requires more work in the first couple years in business. That's to be expected.
"I think after that, people get stuck in this growth mindset from the very beginning, and they don't re-evaluate it later on," Lee said.
But she said it's important to ask questions like, Why am I doing this? Is this what's making me happy? Is this what I want in my life?
"Re-evaluate what you want and what's your goal for your company in the end," Lee said. And work-life balance can be included in that list of wants and goals.
For more advice from Lee on setting boundaries between work and life, give the episode a listen.