Maybe not, says this work-life specialist
Maybe not, says this work-life specialistCali Williams Yost is president of Work+Life Fit, Inc., and author of Work+Life: Finding the Fit That's Right for You. Yost, who hosts a blog at
worklifefit.com, founded Work+Life Fit, a Madison, N.J.-based company dedicated to helping professionals manage the way life fits in their work schedule. She is a recent recipient of the Work-Life Rising Star Award from the Alliance for Work-Life Progress. Yost spoke with Consulting about what, if anything, can be done about the profession's rigorous travel schedule and its impact on consultants.
Why work/life "fit" instead of "balance"?
It's not about balance. We need to get rid of that word. It causes way more problems than it solves. There are many transitions in life—getting married, parenthood, elder care, retirement—and people need to adjust their work-life fit in response to that. For many people, balance represents this magical 50/50 split between work and their personal lives. Balance becomes the deficit module; it's always the thing you don't have. Work-life fit, on the other hand, is about your realities at a particular time in your work and personal life and creating that fit.
With the amount of travel in this industry, could consultants really find a good fit?
It's even more critical for somebody in a field like consulting to approach it as work-life fit rather than balance. Consultants will never achieve a traditional balance. If you look at it as work-life fit, that allows you to look at your circumstances as they are today personally and professionally. Then, figure out how you can make that fit work for you. I have known a number of people in this field who are fine on the road for a part of their career. If you're just out of business school, you're young and not married, and you're interested in making a lot of money, a consultant's travel schedule can work for you.
What if it's not working?
First thing I would suggest is to ask the question: Do I really have to do all of this traveling? Your firm will probably say 'yes,' but don't take it as gospel that consulting has to be done now the way it's always been done. I've seen a lot of consultants challenging the traditional client-service model of being on-site four days a week. A lot can be done remotely these days. It's possible that clients may not even want you in their office four days a week.
Of course, you could always switch firms. But before you do that, challenge the traditional model. I've really seen an openness to new ways of working that I hadn't seen even ten years ago.
A lot of consultants burn out after a few years, and usually it's the travel. This means the firms are constantly searching for new talent. Is there a way to stop that cycle?
The firms would be wise to stop ignoring the problem and address it openly by
providing training and by having managers engage in the conversation. Give consultants a plan and a path that won't lead to that type of burnout. A lot of people who go into consulting are high achieving, motivated people, and I bet they're looking for ways to not leave. The firms should be willing to have that discussion with their consultants.
But doesn't a lot of traveling go with the territory?
Consultants will never stop traveling. That's the nature of the business. But even if you can find a way to cut back your travel by 10 percent, that's a significant time saving when you're traveling as much as these folks are. Look, I'm a consultant, and I have clients all over the country. Could I be at a client location every week of the year? Yes, but is that really value-add for the client? I only travel when I have to.
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