Work Hard, Play Hard! Balancing Fun and Productivity in the Summer

Description: Summer is the time of year when many people want to kick back, relax, and enjoy the warm weather. However, with work and other responsibilities still demanding attention, finding the balance between having fun and being productive can be challenging.

In this episode, we explore strategies for achieving that balance and discuss the benefits of taking time off to recharge. Our guest Samantha Siebenaller shares her personal experiences and offers practical tips for managing work and play during the summer months.

Whether you're a part-time employee or a full-time professional trying to stay focused, this episode will help you find the right balance between work and play. Join us for a fun and informative discussion about how to work hard and play hard in the summer!

Resources:

Time Management - MRA Course 

Role Modeling Your Culture, Summertime Style 

Benefits of Flexible Scheduling Options 

MRA Membership 

About MRA 

Let's Connect:

Guest Bio - Samantha Siebenaller 

Guest LinkedIn Profile - Sam Siebenaller 

Host Bio - Sophie Boler 

Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler 

Transcript:

Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.

00:00:21:04 - 00:00:39:17
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Hello, everybody, and welcome to 30 minute Thrive. We're excited you're here, and I'm excited to introduce our guests for today. Thanks for being on the show, Sam. Happy to be here. Well, the topic we're talking about today really applies to any time of the year, but since summer is just right around the corner.

00:00:39:19 - 00:01:01:12
Unknown
Think now's a great time to talk about balancing fun and productivity in the summer. So like i said, i'm here with Sam Siebenaller. Sam is our HR Services manager here at mra. So she oversees our HR Business partner teams at MRA, and she comes with a 20 plus year background of employee relations, talent management, policy, development and more.

00:01:01:14 - 00:01:27:03
Unknown
So, again, thanks for sharing your expertise today and your personal experience, too. Well, let's kind of start out with the overarching picture. So how do you define work life balance and what does it mean in the context of summer? Yeah, for me, work life balance specifically means figuring out what's most important to me in my life and then how do I make sure work doesn't take away from it while still achieving whatever I need to achieve at work?

00:01:27:03 - 00:01:48:12
Unknown
Great summers. Not very different for me than the rest of the year, of course, but in the context of summer, it's really shifting schedules for my family and making sure that we kind of reset everything. You know, going from a school schedule to God knows what I'm going to be doing, right? So I was having a conversation this weekend with some parents actually.

00:01:48:12 - 00:02:09:02
Unknown
And one thing that I thought was was funny and I thought was great advice for parents is we overbook our kids all school year. They're doing taekwondo, they're doing swimming, they've got soccer, they've got baseball. What about in summer? We don't overbook. But what if we didn't? And it was that reminder that I can have a life that's not overbooked, and that's going to help all of it go a little easier.

00:02:09:02 - 00:02:38:18
Unknown
Yeah, absolutely. Well, we know that communication is also key between employees and managers. So when talking about work life balance, how can people effectively communicate their needs to employers or colleagues when it comes to taking time off during the summer? Yeah, well, I think it comes back to planning. So understanding what your needs are, understanding what the business needs are, and then communicating your needs to your manager with us with suggestions from balance at all.

00:02:38:20 - 00:02:57:21
Unknown
So if you think you need to leave early two days a week, how are you going to get your work done? If you need to work it out and get it back it up? You still got to do. You still have to get your job done, you know, in the summer. But, you know, I think as long as you're clear and communicate with your manager regularly, you know, usually you can figure something out and it's good advice.

00:02:57:23 - 00:03:17:03
Unknown
Well, let's kind of get into your own personal experience with work life balance. So how do you personally manage your workload and schedule to make time for your leisure activities and stuff like that during the summer? Yeah. So one of the things I do is I always look ahead a couple of months now, so I see when do I need to take off for my child?

00:03:17:03 - 00:03:38:18
Unknown
Doesn't have school, when do we have appointments? When are we going to take a vacation? We're going next. We just got back from Puerto Rico a couple of months ago. When can I go again? And another one of. So I really look ahead and then I make sure I communicate with my team, with my peers. So everybody at MRA knew I was going to Puerto Rico well in advance so that I could take off, unplug, unwind, yeah.

00:03:38:18 - 00:04:05:06
Unknown
And had backups in place and a plan in place so that I wasn't working while I was off. So again, it's all planning, communication and really thinking about what's important at home and at work and in and out. Yeah, that kind of reminds me of like, even just your calendar, like on Outlook. Well, we use Outlook, but it's so nice to, like, look ahead at coworkers schedules and see like, oh, so-and-so's working remotely two weeks from now.

00:04:05:06 - 00:04:26:10
Unknown
Like, I won't plan anything. They're like, That's so important. Yes. So could you share any tips for setting boundaries between work and play when the lines can easily blur during the summer? Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I mentioned I have a child and one of the things I see parents do a lot is work when they're at their child's events.

00:04:26:10 - 00:04:47:14
Unknown
And that's great if that works for them and and what have you. What I try to do is balance my schedules so that when I'm with him, I'm with him. And if that means that, okay, I've got to cut out early because he's got to sporting events, well then maybe I'm going to work a little bit on a Sunday because that brings me peace to have my my week kind of ready for whatever whatever else is going to go on.

00:04:47:16 - 00:05:11:13
Unknown
So but having those boundaries can look different for everybody. Some people here I work on Sundays and they think I'm not right. And but for me, that boundary works. I'm okay doing that. And where for other people that's maintaining a very fixed schedule for work and then cutting out at the exact same time every day because they have whatever responsibilities outside of work or whatever fun things planned out at work.

00:05:11:13 - 00:05:34:06
Unknown
So everyone kind of needs to decide what their boundaries are and communicate and plan for them. So kind of going off of that, what what other advice do you have for individuals who kind of struggle to have that disconnect from work while on vacation or at your kids for fun or just time off in general? Yeah, I think first step is understanding why they're struggling to disconnect.

00:05:34:06 - 00:05:56:21
Unknown
Yeah. Is it that they're overwhelmed at work? Is it that they love their job and so they're choosing not to disconnect because they want to check their email? Yeah. And they want to know what's happening. So understanding their why and then figuring out how you get away from that. So last fall, I last August, I took a vacation with my family and candidly, Sophie, I worked almost every day, a couple hours.

00:05:56:21 - 00:06:15:21
Unknown
Here they are. Yes, eight out of ten. But I looked back at it when I was planning ahead for my next trip and said, I want to do that again. Right. I don't want to run a payroll from Puerto Rico. Right. So and I remember is probably don't want me to buy it. So I kind of looked at why so why did I end up working every day?

00:06:15:21 - 00:06:33:17
Unknown
And I realized I didn't have a backup plan in place for some of my responsibilities. I realized I hadn't set specific contacts for some people on my team if they needed things from me. So I learned from that and started communicating my plan early and often for the next trip. So again, reflecting on what happened and planning ahead for next time.

00:06:33:18 - 00:07:05:01
Unknown
That's good advice. So work life balance also goes hand-in-hand with motivation and productivity. So how do you maintain motivation and productivity at work while also making time for that leisure time and time off during summer or in general? Yeah, for me it's all about knowing what my goals are and what it's going to take to achieve those. So, you know, thinking ahead over the course of the whole year, what do I need to keep moving over the summer to make sure we hit our targets by the end of the year?

00:07:05:03 - 00:07:27:00
Unknown
Knowing that my team relies on me also plays into that. And so I need to make sure that I'm available when they need me. We were talking about Fridays, right? Yeah, before. And I know that a lot of my team has free time on Fridays when they don't have free time. The rest of the weeks are so busy working with our members and so on Fridays I keep myself available to be there for them.

00:07:27:02 - 00:07:53:19
Unknown
And, and I think that really it helps them feel feel supported. It reminds me why I'm here, what my job is. But still, you know, helps me balance my workload by knowing, okay, I'm to keep Fridays open for my team. I'm not going to overbook myself and be able to support their needs. Yeah, that's a great idea. Well, MRA and I'm sure at other companies too, we do a lot of summer activities or team bonding activities.

00:07:53:21 - 00:08:18:20
Unknown
So do you know any other creative ways that individuals or organizations kind of incorporate that team-building activities and bonding during the summer while also still being productive with work? Yeah, so, you know, lots of different ways. One of the ways I just I thought of that that I did here just last week, Friday, is I met with another member of our team out on our patio here at our Waukesha office.

00:08:19:01 - 00:08:40:23
Unknown
Yeah. And we, we had a few open items we needed to discuss. We sat on the patio, discussed them, soaked up the sunshine, was a little chilly, but soaked up that sunshine and really felt refreshed when we came back in from it. So again, looking for opportunities to just kind of maybe change your setting if you can. Yeah, Obviously we you know, we also work with a lot of employers where maybe we have a more fixed schedule.

00:08:40:23 - 00:09:07:12
Unknown
We can't step away from an assembly line. Right. And so for those employers, the challenge is to find ways to incorporate it into the work schedule, into the day. So a lot of employers and they love this one, they'll do cookouts over lunch for their teams, so provide a meal, encourage camaraderie, maybe set out some fun games, place megs over lunch, whether it is a catered lunch or a or a potluck.

00:09:07:15 - 00:09:26:06
Unknown
Yeah you know also taking opportunity is for personal connection during training. So if you're a team that has some scheduled mandatory training has come OSHA, you name it you know could you tack on an extra half an hour for some team building activities as part of that? And can you get it outside when the weather's nice? Because we're in the Midwest and it's not nice all the time.

00:09:26:06 - 00:09:48:22
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah. We that reminds me when we had a couple food trucks last summer, it kind of got everybody to go outside, take a little breather from work, enjoy some tacos, come back. We joke on our team, actually. How do you give your employees a taco truck experience? Yeah, if they don't, we're working in an environment where you can give them the actual talk express.

00:09:49:02 - 00:10:08:11
Unknown
Good point. You know, if they can't step away, if they're remote workers, how do you bring those experiences to your employees? Yeah, that's actually what I was going to ask. If you have anything else to add. I know we touched on it briefly, but what about for companies or departments who can't have flexible scheduling or. Yeah, need time off in the summer?

00:10:08:11 - 00:10:28:15
Unknown
What, what options do they have? Yeah. So I really think it's about looking at the full year and understanding the work that you do, understanding the, the business cycles for your organization and figure out what you can accomplish. So great example as a company we work with up in Minnesota, their employees love their long weekends. They all go up north, right?

00:10:28:17 - 00:10:45:21
Unknown
They're fishing, they're hunting, they're having time with their families. As an organization, they're relatively small. So they could do this. They decided we're going to do 4/10 Monday through Thursday and a half day every Friday. So for hours on Fridays, if they have over time, the front loaded into the week. So everybody still gets their long weekends because they know it's valuable to their people.

00:10:45:23 - 00:11:16:07
Unknown
And, you know, they've they've made it work for their organization. And I think, you know, identifying that they're able to do that and then following through. Now, not every company can do that in the summer or around, but looking for ideas like that. Crowd sourcing from your own employees. Yeah, you don't want to overpromise and under-deliver, but if you let your employees know, hey, we're looking for ways that we can give you more flexibility, that we can, you know, identify your needs as an individual and hopefully satisfy them, ask them what they think.

00:11:16:09 - 00:11:44:04
Unknown
Great to get and and take that take those opinions. Look at your business cycles, look at your needs and try to come up with solution for sure. Are there any specific tools or technologies that you personally use to help manage or organize your time? Yeah, I just live and die by my calendar, basically. Right. We all do. So what I do personally though, because you know, when you're managing a family or you have a lot of personal commitments, doesn't matter if you have kids or not, right?

00:11:44:04 - 00:12:11:16
Unknown
Yeah, I make sure that my work calendar reflects my personal calendar, so I know. Hey, you need to leave by 430 to get on to taekwondo, don't forget. And so I make sure I blend those calendars. We are extremely lucky to have a nanny in the summer who is amazing. Shout out to Colt. Right? And so we also put our personal commitments on his calendar and make sure that we all kind of know where we're going when we're go in, when we're going there, so we can plan ahead.

00:12:11:16 - 00:12:35:21
Unknown
Yeah. And so really, for me, it is just my calendar. No, I second that. Yes. Yeah. And to do less my go to. Yeah. I think some people might be wondering like why is it so important to prioritize just relaxation during the summer. So are there any benefits in doing so. I mean obvious mental health benefits from kind of unplugging and unwinding.

00:12:35:21 - 00:12:55:12
Unknown
Right. And then as I mentioned before, we're in the Midwest. Summers are short. Yeah. And so if you're somebody where sunshine makes a difference to how you feel about life, you want to find ways to get out there. I was speaking with another parent this weekend and she was talking about finding opportunities to get into nature and the mental health benefits just of that.

00:12:55:14 - 00:13:17:02
Unknown
And you know, we can do that year round. But I don't love snow, so I personally try to find ways to get more sunshine into my day or agree with that. You know? Well, as we kind of close out the episode here, can you end with any other practical steps that employees or employers can take to achieve that healthy work life balance throughout the year, not just the summer?

00:13:17:02 - 00:13:38:19
Unknown
Yeah, I mean, I think it's just continually evaluating what's working for you in your life and at work and what's not, and then thinking about ways to make that better. We each individually own our lives in our careers, so it's on us to do it, and it's on us to give feedback to our employers. If we're not in a good place, if we're not getting what we need without that, it's never going to get better.

00:13:38:19 - 00:14:04:08
Unknown
If you don't have that work life right now. Yeah, that was a good ending point. So we all hope that's all the time we have today. So thank you again for being here. I learned a lot. I'm definitely going to implement those strategies and techniques that you mentioned for my summer work life balance. But to our listeners, I would encourage you to like, comment and share this episode if you enjoyed it or learn something to know.

00:14:04:09 - 00:14:24:11
Unknown
Also, take a look at the resources that we have in the show Notes below. On becoming an MRA member. We've also got Sam's bio and LinkedIn profile down in the show notes below. Also, if you want to get in touch with her or have any follow up questions, I'm sure she'd be happy to connect. Absolutely. But thanks again, Sam, and thanks to our listeners.

00:14:24:12 - 00:14:46:01
Unknown
Thank you. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect for more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform. And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minute Thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.