responsive to your company while also attending to personal matters. On the other hand, by performing routine domestic tasks—such as shopping, bill paying, and gift giving—from your work site, you may be able to devote more of your precious personal time to activities you find most relaxing and enjoyable. I also suggest that, before you seek
a new work arrangement, you think through exactly what you and your employer will need. To help determine what you need, start by listing your top five values. Once you have identified your most important values, rank them in order of priority. Performing these two exercises should enable you to identify what is really most important to you, which may help you know how to solve your work-life problems. Let’s say you’d like to negotiate a
raise, but aren’t sure what to ask for. Your list of values might include: having adventure, providing in-person care of your family, making money,
being creative, and having career suc- cess. Once you prioritize your list, you discover that having career success is your highest priority followed by: providing in-person care for your fam- ily, having adventure, being creative, and making money. By prioritizing these values, you might conclude that an increase in pay is not as important as having an influential and reward- ing position. In which case, what you might negotiate for is not more money, but more opportunity to move your career ahead. So, I challenge you, what are your
values and how would you rank them? What does this ranking tell you about how you might reconsider your cur- rent work arrangement? Once you have determined what is
most important to you, and there- fore what you really need from your employer, you should try to anticipate, as best you can, what your employer will need as well. Given the increase in work, will your employer need some-
one else to fill in during your absences from the office? How would you be willing to address that concern? Your employer may feel that your work requires a physical presence in the office. How do you anticipate your employer will receive your request? Your employer may be willing to give you more flexibility, but it might come with a price. What concessions can you bring to the table that would make accepting this change easier on your colleagues? Tese are just a few of the considerations, but the more you try to anticipate how to best help your employer with your change, the more likely you will gain their support you seek.
Kindest regards, Lawyer’s Lantern D&B
Lori L. Garret is a managing director for MCCA’s southeast region. She heads MCCA’s professional development services.
13
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