April 7, 2025 • 29 mins
Hosts Prince Tate and Mario Hunt sit down with special guest Elena Doolan to unpack the evolving challenges of work-life balance—especially with the shift back to in-office work.
They explore what real balance looks like today, how to spot burnout before it spirals, and why both employees and employers play a role in making balance sustainable. This conversation is full of real talk, practical tips, and encouragement for anyone trying to stay grounded in a demanding world.
✅ Work-life balance is a daily practice, not a one-time achievement
✅ The return to the office is impacting employee mental health
✅ Employers and employees share responsibility for creating balance
✅ Setting boundaries increases respect and productivity
✅ Recognizing burnout signs helps protect your well-being
✅ Take inventory of your commitments to reduce stress
✅ Therapy and support systems help keep you grounded
✅ Blocking off time for self-care boosts long-term focus
✅ Every season of life requires different priorities
✅ Balance starts with knowing what matters most to you
Connect with Elena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenadoolan/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's episode is all about work-life balance,
finding stability in a demandingworld.
Is it real, who's responsiblefor it and how we actually
achieve it.
So let's get into it, hey, andwelcome back to the Transparent
(00:25):
Nature Podcast, where we bringreal conversations to help you
navigate your career andworkplace challenges.
It's your host, prince Tate,and joining me in this episode
is my co-host, mario Hunt.
What's going on, mario?
Hey, how you doing, man?
Hello everyone Welcome.
Hey, doing good, doing good,mario.
What you doing, man?
Hello everyone Welcome.
(00:45):
Hey, doing good, doing good,mario.
What you been up to?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Man working.
You know what I do?
I get out there.
I make things move, I shake alittle bit, you know.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yeah, man but we also know you're a businessman,
right, and so we know you're abusy man.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
You're a busy businessman.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yes, Well, I'm glad that you're on the show with us,
mario.
We have a very special guesttoday.
We're going to introduce her injust a second, but you know we
wanted to continue to do theseepisodes and have this type of
collaboration and really theconversation Right.
I think people really enjoy theconversations that we have on
(01:25):
the Transparent HR Podcast.
If you are enjoying the show,we'd love for you to hit that
subscribe button, share theepisode with someone who can
benefit from it and leave us areview.
We want to see your feedback,see how much you're loving it.
I know we often get feedbackthrough my LinkedIn and people
(01:47):
comments, but we want you to putthat in a review so we can
receive the love that way aswell.
Your support continues to helpus to bring real insight that
helps you succeed in your careeras well as within your
workplace.
Our guest today is Elena Doolin.
She's an HR Development Managerat UMRF Ventures.
(02:11):
She started as a recruiter justlast year and now leads their
internal HR function, all whilepursuing a master's degree in
Human Resources Leadership.
With so much on her plate, sheknows firsthand what it takes to
manage work, school andpersonal life effectively.
Elena, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Thank you, so happy to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Hey, tell us a little bit about you outside of work.
What do you enjoy doing?
What do you love?
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, in my free time , I really like to read.
I've been an avid reader sinceI was eight, nine years old.
I was reading middle school,high school level, so I'm kind
of a nerd.
I like to play video games, butI really like to spend time
with my family, cook, try newexperimental dishes.
(03:02):
And something I've recentlystarted taking up is traveling.
Didn't have a big chance to dothat when I was younger and now
I have more of an opportunity,so I'm really taking advantage
of that.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Hey, I know someone who loves traveling, that's
Mario.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I love to travel.
Love it, love it, love it.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
All right, so let's get into the discussion.
Today, again, we're talkingabout work-life balance, and I
think it's really important thatwe talk about this topic,
because we're seeing a lot oforganizations pulling back on
their work-life balanceinitiatives, such as remote work
, and they're asking theiremployees and making them come
(03:46):
back into the office.
So what do y'all think aboutthis?
All of this that's going on asit relates to remote work?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Well, I feel like that's a shift that I have been
seeing a lot more recently,especially just on LinkedIn
seeing job postings, especially,you know, just on LinkedIn
seeing job postings.
All of it says full-time inoffice, whereas you know, a year
ago, two years, it would havebeen either fully remote or
hybrid.
And I really feel that a lot ofus that are in the workforce
(04:20):
now, who kind of lived throughand worked through COVID, you
know that whole time period thatwas something that we
integrated into our work-lifebalance was having either a
remote or hybrid option.
So I feel like that there is ashift.
I'm eager to see where it'sgoing to go.
I'm eager to see if we're goingto push back and make this a
permanent situation or if we'regoing to be back in office fully
(04:44):
.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Yeah, yeah, mario, I know you said in our last
episode on episode 10, you love,love, love remote work.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Just in perspective to the topic and some of the
things I can agree with withElena um, I feel like it's a
catastrophic change.
It's huge.
Um.
I I honestly feel like it'sextremely, extremely unfair to
the workforce.
Um, we were forced to move intoremote Um so a lot of people
did not have have they did nothave an option.
(05:24):
We were kind of forced to do itand people did it, they
adjusted and as soon as you getadjusted and this has become a
part of your norm, it's changedand flipped back and it's
returned back to work physically.
Back to work changes.
(05:46):
I think a lot of people reallysaw the difference in how to be
able to balance and it createdan environment or forced people
to conform and learn how tobalance their work life.
You know, work, your personallife, family and just yourself
giving yourself back so much.
And I think, from myperspective and from some of the
feedback that I received, itwas a positive change.
(06:06):
It was needed.
People learned how to separatethe two but not be required for
them to actually go to alocation to actually work.
So now that everyone'scomfortable, they have made a
lot of arrangements.
Most people have gone intotheir homes and shifted their
homes and changed them to wherethey have workspace in their
(06:26):
homes and a lot of people, well,a lot of companies, capitalized
off of that.
Yeah, and to get out of thatplace that I feel of security, a
place that you've created, tobe able to balance everything
and to force again a force ofchange for people to return like
(06:49):
this never happened, um, Ithink is huge, I think it's
devastating for some people, um,and I think you well, in my
perspective, we are starting tosee how, um, how it's kind of
affecting people when it comesto mental health, People
realizing, yes, because thestressors we don't realize how
(07:14):
many things that we face dailywhen we have to go into a
different location.
You know the travel, thetraffic location.
You know the travel, thetraffic, the sum of the energy
that's passed from employee toemployee and, of course, working
in human resources I think weall have.
So we know what it's like tohave to work with a person and
(07:40):
come in with that person and,depending upon the state of
where they are, it can kind oftransfer over to you.
So, yeah, um, I think it's kindof um devastating, Um I think
it's going to affect a lot ofpeople.
It's already affecting a lot ofpeople and, um, I'm, I'm really
(08:00):
um anxious to see if this issomething, as Elena said, that
will continue, or if we will beforced to make some changes to
accommodate people with thiscatastrophic change that has
taken place with making theworkforce return back on site in
this article from HarvardBusiness Review and it says in a
(08:24):
recent survey, 64% of employeesat top companies said that they
would forego a $30,000 raise ifit meant they didn't have to
return to the office.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
So that speaks a lot, right, it says a lot.
People really don't care aboutthe money anymore as it relates
to having peace and just mentalhealth great mental health,
right.
And so that speaks a lot.
And I think it's important fororganizations to really
reconsider how they implementwork life balance opportunities
(09:00):
for their employees.
But not only that.
I think what's been mostinteresting is the swiftness in
the change.
One day you're working fromhome, remote, and then the next
day, immediate change, next weekcome in the office.
It's mandatory.
If you don't, you'll be at riskfor termination, and I think
(09:25):
that has been really scaring andreally shocking employees
across the US and even acrossthe world with how we are
managing, I like to say,work-life balance.
So one of my questions that Iwant to ask is you know, for
work-life balance and juststarting in my career, I thought
(09:49):
I had to, or I thought theorganization was managing
work-life balance for me, likeit was up to them on how
work-life balance is.
But before we even go there, iswork-life balance a real
concept or is it just an ideal?
How do you define work-lifebalance?
Speaker 3 (10:15):
I like to say that work-life balance is not
something that you can achieve.
It is something that youcontinuously choose to practice
every day, and everyone hasdifferent what I like to call
seasons of life, and one seasonof your life might require a
(10:39):
little bit more work balance,whereas another season might
require a little bit more lifebalance.
So, waking up every day,knowing your intentions, knowing
your goals and being self awarein order to align your goals
and be able to maintain thatbalance, so that you are
(11:00):
maintaining and not sacrificingyour physical or mental
well-being.
I really like the term seasonsof life in the sense of you know
you might be getting married orhaving a baby, or getting
another degree, another degree.
Either way, you have to be ableto manage and adapt your goals,
(11:23):
and you have to be.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
You're the only person who knows yourself, so
you have to be able to identifythat and then adjust accordingly
.
That's really good, mario.
So kind of going with what Iwas talking about.
Right, I thought my companymanaged work-life balance.
So who do you think isresponsible for work-life
balance the individual or theemployer?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I think they both are .
I think we all are In too manycases.
I think that the employer andwith you know, with us being HR,
professional, talentprofessionals, we are kind of
charged to be to like that, walkthat tightrope, as I always say
, where we're supposed tosupport the company, mitigate
(12:14):
risk and in liability, but atthe same time I'm think about
its most prized position, whichis it's human, it's human
capital, the people that arehelping this company, that's
building this company andhelping to bring in the revenue
and grow.
But I think, a lot of times,with the company itself not
being a part of what we considerthe HR family, they don't think
(12:38):
like we think the HR family,they don't think like we think.
So they don't think aboutthings outside of what those
goals are, what those numbersare and those metrics that need
to be met.
It's our responsibility toremind them that it's also the
company's responsibility tothink about the well-being of
their workforce.
(12:59):
If your workforce is not happy,if your workforce is not in a
good, stable condition, it willshow in the productivity of your
business and your company and Idon't think they see that part,
they don't connect to it.
So in all times it's ourresponsibility to get out.
Unfortunately, we're on bothsides, so we're going back and
(13:20):
forth on trying to push theenvelope and make sure that each
side sees the benefits ofeverything working out and is
balanced Not just our work-lifebalance, but it's just balanced
throughout the company as well.
It's human capital, it's staff.
The staff needs to understandthat some things.
(13:41):
We need them to go this way sothat the company can benefit
from it, because when thecompany benefits, we benefit as
well.
We're employed, we receivebenefits, you know.
But we also need the company tounderstand as well that when
sometimes we have to step backand give a little bit more to
our employees, because when theemployees and the staff, when
(14:01):
they're happy, when they're in agood mental state, when they're
healthy, then we can get thebest out of them, which AE or
ends up reflecting in theproductivity and the metrics.
So I think it is a combinedresponsibility, yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Wow, yeah, I think it is, and I think that you know,
in order for you to have worklife balance again, you have to
look at what you're doing, aswell as looking at even
resources within theorganization, because they may
have some resources to help youhave a work life balance as well
as well.
(14:42):
So let me ask this questionwhat are some practical
strategies for our listenerstoday to help them just
establish a work-life balancewithin their lives?
Elena, if you want to take thatone, yes.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So when I was thinking about this question, I
was reflecting on my own life,because, in addition to my job
as an HR development manager andgrad school, I also work two
other jobs.
I'm a server at two restaurantsin Memphis, so I am always
(15:14):
either working or studying.
So work-life balance has beenimportant and I had to find a
good way to navigate that.
And, right off the bat, I am abig, big supporter of therapy
and whether that be going andseeing a professional or having
someone in your life that youconsider like maybe your best
(15:37):
friend if they had the emotionalbandwidth to listen to you.
But I'm going to give anexample that my therapist and I
talked about, because we've hadthis conversation several times,
as you can probably imagine.
It doesn't matter.
You know the state that you'rein.
I think everyone can benefitfrom therapy and having someone
(15:59):
that they can talk to.
State that you're in, I thinkeveryone can benefit from
therapy and having someone thatthey can talk to.
But I talked to her a lot aboutI feel like I'm overwhelmed, I
have too much on my plate, andshe gave me this great metaphor
that imagine that your life is apie, metaphorical pie.
Can you eat, Prince, can youeat a whole pie in one sitting?
Can you eat?
Speaker 1 (16:21):
um, prince, can you eat a whole pie in one sitting?
Just, I probably can, if you,if you challenge me what?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
would it be healthy.
Could you sit?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
and just eat a whole pie in one sitting no, I would
feel awful if I ate the wholething exactly he could do it.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
He could, he could, but it wouldn't be healthy hey,
they call me big neck at work.
So she gave me this All right.
So do you have your differentslices of pie.
You have your spiritual, yourreligion, you have your career,
your education, your family,your love life every different
(16:58):
slice.
You can't sit and eat a wholepie in one sitting, but what you
can do is you can take a bitefrom this slice and a bite from
this slice, and you have tochoose the slices that you're
focusing on.
And right now, the slices I'mfocusing on are my financial
goals that I have set for myself, my education and my career,
and that helped me take a stepback and recognize that I don't
(17:21):
need to take on everything allat once, which helps balance out
that work-life balance.
Asking yourself questions, thisimportant question of what do I
need right now to be able toshow up um in my best way for my
, for, you know, for others, inevery space that I'm in, whether
(17:45):
it be work, whether it be withmy family, whether it be in a
romantic relationship, what do Ineed right now to show up as my
best self?
Um, and that takes, you know,taking inventory I love that
phrase taking inventory of whatyou have on your plate right now
, what can be pushed to the backburner or, you know, maybe to
(18:08):
next week, so that you're notcrashing and burning when your
family, you know something popsup and your family needs you or
something pops up at work.
I mean, we're all HRprofessionals.
We walk in the door and wenever know what our day is going
to entail.
But being able to show up forour employees, show up for our
(18:29):
families or whoever we have inour lives is so important.
So therapy, but really justhaving a good support system
that can also clock it whenthey're like hey, you're getting
a little bit irritable, youhave a lot on your plate.
My family calls me out on thatall the time.
They're like hey, you're, youknow, I think you might need to
(18:52):
get an extra couple hours ofsleep.
Or maybe make sure you eatsomething you know.
So like, make sure you havesomeone to hold you accountable.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, yeah.
You know what?
Recently I've been listening tothe Mel Robbins podcast and
she's been talking about andreally giving resources, about.
You know how do you how to getyour life back Right?
And one of the episodes Irealized I'm like I just need
sleep, like I just need to takea nap.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
You know, a nap will change everything.
I promise you, I'm a bigproponent of naps too.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
So you know, taking ensuring that you're not so
booked up where you can't takecare of you, that you're not so
booked up where you can't takecare of you, and sometimes that
means taking a nap, sometimesthat means going to get a
massage, sometimes that meansgoing with Mario to the gym and
working out right, releasing,you know those things that you
(19:50):
need to release those stressors.
And I think it's important that, as employees, especially if
you are a hard worker likemyself, you go to work and you
want to give 100%, but sometimesyou can't give 100% right, and
so that kind of leads me tothinking like you can't put all
(20:10):
your eggs in one basket.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
You can't.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
You can't, you can't.
You know, if you have a weekand you know it's going to be
busy, you have to prepareyourself, you have to embrace,
for, you know, just having along week, and so I think it's
important that too, that youstart off your week well.
And so what I try to do is, onSundays, after church, after I
(20:35):
go to you know, eat or whatnot,let me take a nap, because this
is going to help prepare me forMonday, tuesday, wednesday, all
the way into Friday and Saturday.
So thank you so much for that,that insight.
Mario, can you give us some,maybe some signs of burnout when
(20:59):
you realize?
You know what?
I think I pushed myself too far.
Tell us what do you think?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
For me.
As Elena said, I think we'reall kind of in the same boat.
I work a million jobs.
Well, I say a million, but it'snot really a million, but it
feels like that sometimes.
Yeah, as you can see, you knowit's a Saturday and we're all
kind of working with the podcast, but I'm literally in my clinic
and, as you stated, I'm goingto the gym with me.
I'm a fitness instructor aswell as working with NHR and
(21:32):
talent and just combined with alot of different tasks For me.
I think the signs for burnoutfor me are when I always feel
tired.
I always feel like I need tosleep longer, no matter what I
do, no matter how I try to takesome me time or some time to
(21:53):
myself, if I'm always feelinglike I can't recharge.
I'm getting more sleep, I'mdoing more things physically for
my physical, I'm going to thegym, which again also benefits
you mentally as well but I'mstill feeling tired.
So I feel like that's a sign ofburnout.
(22:14):
Another sign I've seen, not justwithin myself but within other
people you start to lose thatbalance that you have.
You cannot manage the thingsthat you have set up.
You have it structured out, butyou're still somehow not
actually getting the job donecompletely.
Not actually getting the jobdone completely.
You're still before you can getdone.
(22:36):
You can't.
You don't think as well.
Elena, you said you like toread, so could you imagine
trying to read and your focus isleaving while you're trying to
read because your eyes are tired, you know so signs like that
I'm saying the words but I'm notreading anything, you're not
comprehending it, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
And so, look, I just fall asleep.
So, elena, what are some lastminute tips or insights that you
want to give to our listenersabout work-life balance?
And, really, how do they setthose boundaries without
jeopardizing their careers ortheir jobs?
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Well, prince, that's a that's a great question.
Jeopardizing their careers ortheir jobs?
Well, prince, that's a that's agreat question and one that I
struggled with for a long time.
Because I am a high, highachiever, I want to give 110%,
like you said earlier.
But being able to recognize thisis a lesson I had to learn
early that saying yes all of thetime is not going to make
(23:36):
everyone else respect you more.
They're going to respect youmore when you know your
boundaries, when you know yournon-negotiables, whether it be
your work hours, your channel ofcommunication, like hey, please
don't text me.
You know, send me a message onTeams or Slack or whatever.
On Teams or Slack or whatever.
(23:59):
That would really help themrespect you more because you
know your boundaries.
And then you've been consistentwith those boundaries, and
consistency is the key wordthere.
Don't tell someone somethingonce and then let them break
that boundary.
So, in addition to that,something that I've implemented,
that I've encouraged all of mycolleagues, whether they be in
HR or my industry whatever isblocking off time on your
(24:21):
calendar to make sure that youare taking a lunch break,
because that is something I amchronically known for is not
taking a lunch break.
I do working lunches.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Right, you just work through it.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Yeah, exactly, I'll be sitting there eating my
sandwich or whatever, but I'malso typing an email at the same
time.
So block off time on yourcalendar, take that first 30
minutes, you know, to an hour ofyour day, to slowly you know.
Go into your day, drink yourcoffee, eat your banana, do
whatever it is that you do inthe morning.
(24:52):
Whatever it is that you do inthe morning.
I personally, a big part of myjob is interviewing.
I don't let anyone book mycalendar before 10 am.
I come into the office at night.
They're not allowed to book mycalendar before 10, because that
is my time to wake up, do mymorning rounds, like I was
telling you, and really preparemyself for the day so that I can
(25:13):
show up better in thoseinterviews and for all of my
employees.
So my big tips here are setyour boundaries consistently,
identify your non-negotiablesand make sure you're taking time
for yourself, whether that bemicro breaks or just blocking
(25:35):
off time on your calendar to beable to take care of yourself.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah, yeah, setting boundaries is really important
and that's one thing that Ilearned about work life balance
is that you have to some, youhave to say no sometimes.
Right, and that does not meanthat that people aren't going to
like you anymore or yourperformance?
is going to go down, that peoplearen't going to like you
anymore or your performance isgoing to go down.
But again, I think settingthose boundaries and letting
people know those boundaries isgoing to allow them, as you
(26:01):
stated, to respect you even more, even more In HR.
You know, I think ourorganization sometimes wants us
to be available 24-7.
You just don't know what'sgoing to happen.
But again, I think, even in ourspace, in our roles, we have to
also set boundaries.
So, if you are an HRprofessional and you're
(26:21):
listening, make sure you setboundaries.
And again make sure you spendtime to take a short break, to
take a walk.
That's something that Maria andI used to do when we used to
work together.
We would take a break, we wouldwalk for about 15 minutes or so
and get back in the office andget right to it, and so set
(26:44):
those boundaries so that you canbe successful and have all of
the energy that you need to showyour best self, to show your
best self Before we get out ofhere.
I want to share an encouragingBible verse.
As we talk about balance andmanaging life's demand, I want
to remind you of this verse.
It's from Ecclesiastes 3 and 1.
(27:07):
There is a time for everythingand a season for every activity
under the heavens.
Again, ecclesiastes 3 and 1.
And I think, elena, you talkedabout this you know there's a
season for every moment, right,you know, in this moment, you
may be focused on your financesand so sometimes that means that
(27:28):
you're working two or threejobs.
You may have to focus on familyat a point in time, but I think
that, again, if you set thoseboundaries, if you set things in
place, it's going to help youto be successful.
So, again, when striving forbalance, remember that every
season has its purpose.
Prioritize what really mattersin that moment and trust that
(27:50):
things will align in the righttiming.
So, elena, thank you so muchfor joining us today and sharing
such valuable insights.
Also, we appreciate Barrio.
Tell us how people can find you, elena.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
You can find me on LinkedIn under my first and last
name, elena Doolin, but you canalso connect with me through
the company UMRF Ventures.
If you go to the website, allmy contact information is on
there.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Awesome.
We'll definitely have the links.
You can also connect with me aswell, as Mario.
We have the links in thedescription below.
If you enjoyed this episode,please subscribe to the
Transparent Nature podcast,share it with a friend and leave
us a review.
It helps us to continue tobring transparent and practical
insights straight to you.
It's Prince Tate and Mario, andwe appreciate you for listening
(28:46):
.
Until next time, keepnavigating your career with
clarity and confidence.
You.
Today's episode is all about work-life balance,
finding stability in a demandingworld.
Is it real, who's responsiblefor it and how we actually
achieve it.
So let's get into it, hey, andwelcome back to the Transparent
(00:25):
Nature Podcast, where we bringreal conversations to help you
navigate your career andworkplace challenges.
It's your host, prince Tate,and joining me in this episode
is my co-host, mario Hunt.
What's going on, mario?
Hey, how you doing, man?
Hello everyone Welcome.
Hey, doing good, doing good,mario.
What you doing, man?
Hello everyone Welcome.
(00:45):
Hey, doing good, doing good,mario.
What you been up to?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Man working.
You know what I do?
I get out there.
I make things move, I shake alittle bit, you know.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yeah, man but we also know you're a businessman,
right, and so we know you're abusy man.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
You're a busy businessman.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yes, Well, I'm glad that you're on the show with us,
mario.
We have a very special guesttoday.
We're going to introduce her injust a second, but you know we
wanted to continue to do theseepisodes and have this type of
collaboration and really theconversation Right.
I think people really enjoy theconversations that we have on
(01:25):
the Transparent HR Podcast.
If you are enjoying the show,we'd love for you to hit that
subscribe button, share theepisode with someone who can
benefit from it and leave us areview.
We want to see your feedback,see how much you're loving it.
I know we often get feedbackthrough my LinkedIn and people
(01:47):
comments, but we want you to putthat in a review so we can
receive the love that way aswell.
Your support continues to helpus to bring real insight that
helps you succeed in your careeras well as within your
workplace.
Our guest today is Elena Doolin.
She's an HR Development Managerat UMRF Ventures.
(02:11):
She started as a recruiter justlast year and now leads their
internal HR function, all whilepursuing a master's degree in
Human Resources Leadership.
With so much on her plate, sheknows firsthand what it takes to
manage work, school andpersonal life effectively.
Elena, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Thank you, so happy to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Hey, tell us a little bit about you outside of work.
What do you enjoy doing?
What do you love?
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, in my free time , I really like to read.
I've been an avid reader sinceI was eight, nine years old.
I was reading middle school,high school level, so I'm kind
of a nerd.
I like to play video games, butI really like to spend time
with my family, cook, try newexperimental dishes.
(03:02):
And something I've recentlystarted taking up is traveling.
Didn't have a big chance to dothat when I was younger and now
I have more of an opportunity,so I'm really taking advantage
of that.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Hey, I know someone who loves traveling, that's
Mario.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I love to travel.
Love it, love it, love it.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
All right, so let's get into the discussion.
Today, again, we're talkingabout work-life balance, and I
think it's really important thatwe talk about this topic,
because we're seeing a lot oforganizations pulling back on
their work-life balanceinitiatives, such as remote work
, and they're asking theiremployees and making them come
(03:46):
back into the office.
So what do y'all think aboutthis?
All of this that's going on asit relates to remote work?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Well, I feel like that's a shift that I have been
seeing a lot more recently,especially just on LinkedIn
seeing job postings, especially,you know, just on LinkedIn
seeing job postings.
All of it says full-time inoffice, whereas you know, a year
ago, two years, it would havebeen either fully remote or
hybrid.
And I really feel that a lot ofus that are in the workforce
(04:20):
now, who kind of lived throughand worked through COVID, you
know that whole time period thatwas something that we
integrated into our work-lifebalance was having either a
remote or hybrid option.
So I feel like that there is ashift.
I'm eager to see where it'sgoing to go.
I'm eager to see if we're goingto push back and make this a
permanent situation or if we'regoing to be back in office fully
(04:44):
.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Yeah, yeah, mario, I know you said in our last
episode on episode 10, you love,love, love remote work.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Just in perspective to the topic and some of the
things I can agree with withElena um, I feel like it's a
catastrophic change.
It's huge.
Um.
I I honestly feel like it'sextremely, extremely unfair to
the workforce.
Um, we were forced to move intoremote Um so a lot of people
did not have have they did nothave an option.
(05:24):
We were kind of forced to do itand people did it, they
adjusted and as soon as you getadjusted and this has become a
part of your norm, it's changedand flipped back and it's
returned back to work physically.
Back to work changes.
(05:46):
I think a lot of people reallysaw the difference in how to be
able to balance and it createdan environment or forced people
to conform and learn how tobalance their work life.
You know, work, your personallife, family and just yourself
giving yourself back so much.
And I think, from myperspective and from some of the
feedback that I received, itwas a positive change.
(06:06):
It was needed.
People learned how to separatethe two but not be required for
them to actually go to alocation to actually work.
So now that everyone'scomfortable, they have made a
lot of arrangements.
Most people have gone intotheir homes and shifted their
homes and changed them to wherethey have workspace in their
(06:26):
homes and a lot of people, well,a lot of companies, capitalized
off of that.
Yeah, and to get out of thatplace that I feel of security, a
place that you've created, tobe able to balance everything
and to force again a force ofchange for people to return like
(06:49):
this never happened, um, Ithink is huge, I think it's
devastating for some people, um,and I think you well, in my
perspective, we are starting tosee how, um, how it's kind of
affecting people when it comesto mental health, People
realizing, yes, because thestressors we don't realize how
(07:14):
many things that we face dailywhen we have to go into a
different location.
You know the travel, thetraffic location.
You know the travel, thetraffic, the sum of the energy
that's passed from employee toemployee and, of course, working
in human resources I think weall have.
So we know what it's like tohave to work with a person and
(07:40):
come in with that person and,depending upon the state of
where they are, it can kind oftransfer over to you.
So, yeah, um, I think it's kindof um devastating, Um I think
it's going to affect a lot ofpeople.
It's already affecting a lot ofpeople and, um, I'm, I'm really
(08:00):
um anxious to see if this issomething, as Elena said, that
will continue, or if we will beforced to make some changes to
accommodate people with thiscatastrophic change that has
taken place with making theworkforce return back on site in
this article from HarvardBusiness Review and it says in a
(08:24):
recent survey, 64% of employeesat top companies said that they
would forego a $30,000 raise ifit meant they didn't have to
return to the office.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
So that speaks a lot, right, it says a lot.
People really don't care aboutthe money anymore as it relates
to having peace and just mentalhealth great mental health,
right.
And so that speaks a lot.
And I think it's important fororganizations to really
reconsider how they implementwork life balance opportunities
(09:00):
for their employees.
But not only that.
I think what's been mostinteresting is the swiftness in
the change.
One day you're working fromhome, remote, and then the next
day, immediate change, next weekcome in the office.
It's mandatory.
If you don't, you'll be at riskfor termination, and I think
(09:25):
that has been really scaring andreally shocking employees
across the US and even acrossthe world with how we are
managing, I like to say,work-life balance.
So one of my questions that Iwant to ask is you know, for
work-life balance and juststarting in my career, I thought
(09:49):
I had to, or I thought theorganization was managing
work-life balance for me, likeit was up to them on how
work-life balance is.
But before we even go there, iswork-life balance a real
concept or is it just an ideal?
How do you define work-lifebalance?
Speaker 3 (10:15):
I like to say that work-life balance is not
something that you can achieve.
It is something that youcontinuously choose to practice
every day, and everyone hasdifferent what I like to call
seasons of life, and one seasonof your life might require a
(10:39):
little bit more work balance,whereas another season might
require a little bit more lifebalance.
So, waking up every day,knowing your intentions, knowing
your goals and being self awarein order to align your goals
and be able to maintain thatbalance, so that you are
(11:00):
maintaining and not sacrificingyour physical or mental
well-being.
I really like the term seasonsof life in the sense of you know
you might be getting married orhaving a baby, or getting
another degree, another degree.
Either way, you have to be ableto manage and adapt your goals,
(11:23):
and you have to be.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
You're the only person who knows yourself, so
you have to be able to identifythat and then adjust accordingly
.
That's really good, mario.
So kind of going with what Iwas talking about.
Right, I thought my companymanaged work-life balance.
So who do you think isresponsible for work-life
balance the individual or theemployer?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I think they both are .
I think we all are In too manycases.
I think that the employer andwith you know, with us being HR,
professional, talentprofessionals, we are kind of
charged to be to like that, walkthat tightrope, as I always say
, where we're supposed tosupport the company, mitigate
(12:14):
risk and in liability, but atthe same time I'm think about
its most prized position, whichis it's human, it's human
capital, the people that arehelping this company, that's
building this company andhelping to bring in the revenue
and grow.
But I think, a lot of times,with the company itself not
being a part of what we considerthe HR family, they don't think
(12:38):
like we think the HR family,they don't think like we think.
So they don't think aboutthings outside of what those
goals are, what those numbersare and those metrics that need
to be met.
It's our responsibility toremind them that it's also the
company's responsibility tothink about the well-being of
their workforce.
(12:59):
If your workforce is not happy,if your workforce is not in a
good, stable condition, it willshow in the productivity of your
business and your company and Idon't think they see that part,
they don't connect to it.
So in all times it's ourresponsibility to get out.
Unfortunately, we're on bothsides, so we're going back and
(13:20):
forth on trying to push theenvelope and make sure that each
side sees the benefits ofeverything working out and is
balanced Not just our work-lifebalance, but it's just balanced
throughout the company as well.
It's human capital, it's staff.
The staff needs to understandthat some things.
(13:41):
We need them to go this way sothat the company can benefit
from it, because when thecompany benefits, we benefit as
well.
We're employed, we receivebenefits, you know.
But we also need the company tounderstand as well that when
sometimes we have to step backand give a little bit more to
our employees, because when theemployees and the staff, when
(14:01):
they're happy, when they're in agood mental state, when they're
healthy, then we can get thebest out of them, which AE or
ends up reflecting in theproductivity and the metrics.
So I think it is a combinedresponsibility, yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Wow, yeah, I think it is, and I think that you know,
in order for you to have worklife balance again, you have to
look at what you're doing, aswell as looking at even
resources within theorganization, because they may
have some resources to help youhave a work life balance as well
as well.
(14:42):
So let me ask this questionwhat are some practical
strategies for our listenerstoday to help them just
establish a work-life balancewithin their lives?
Elena, if you want to take thatone, yes.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So when I was thinking about this question, I
was reflecting on my own life,because, in addition to my job
as an HR development manager andgrad school, I also work two
other jobs.
I'm a server at two restaurantsin Memphis, so I am always
(15:14):
either working or studying.
So work-life balance has beenimportant and I had to find a
good way to navigate that.
And, right off the bat, I am abig, big supporter of therapy
and whether that be going andseeing a professional or having
someone in your life that youconsider like maybe your best
(15:37):
friend if they had the emotionalbandwidth to listen to you.
But I'm going to give anexample that my therapist and I
talked about, because we've hadthis conversation several times,
as you can probably imagine.
It doesn't matter.
You know the state that you'rein.
I think everyone can benefitfrom therapy and having someone
(15:59):
that they can talk to.
State that you're in, I thinkeveryone can benefit from
therapy and having someone thatthey can talk to.
But I talked to her a lot aboutI feel like I'm overwhelmed, I
have too much on my plate, andshe gave me this great metaphor
that imagine that your life is apie, metaphorical pie.
Can you eat, Prince, can youeat a whole pie in one sitting?
Can you eat?
Speaker 1 (16:21):
um, prince, can you eat a whole pie in one sitting?
Just, I probably can, if you,if you challenge me what?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
would it be healthy.
Could you sit?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
and just eat a whole pie in one sitting no, I would
feel awful if I ate the wholething exactly he could do it.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
He could, he could, but it wouldn't be healthy hey,
they call me big neck at work.
So she gave me this All right.
So do you have your differentslices of pie.
You have your spiritual, yourreligion, you have your career,
your education, your family,your love life every different
(16:58):
slice.
You can't sit and eat a wholepie in one sitting, but what you
can do is you can take a bitefrom this slice and a bite from
this slice, and you have tochoose the slices that you're
focusing on.
And right now, the slices I'mfocusing on are my financial
goals that I have set for myself, my education and my career,
and that helped me take a stepback and recognize that I don't
(17:21):
need to take on everything allat once, which helps balance out
that work-life balance.
Asking yourself questions, thisimportant question of what do I
need right now to be able toshow up um in my best way for my
, for, you know, for others, inevery space that I'm in, whether
(17:45):
it be work, whether it be withmy family, whether it be in a
romantic relationship, what do Ineed right now to show up as my
best self?
Um, and that takes, you know,taking inventory I love that
phrase taking inventory of whatyou have on your plate right now
, what can be pushed to the backburner or, you know, maybe to
(18:08):
next week, so that you're notcrashing and burning when your
family, you know something popsup and your family needs you or
something pops up at work.
I mean, we're all HRprofessionals.
We walk in the door and wenever know what our day is going
to entail.
But being able to show up forour employees, show up for our
(18:29):
families or whoever we have inour lives is so important.
So therapy, but really justhaving a good support system
that can also clock it whenthey're like hey, you're getting
a little bit irritable, youhave a lot on your plate.
My family calls me out on thatall the time.
They're like hey, you're, youknow, I think you might need to
(18:52):
get an extra couple hours ofsleep.
Or maybe make sure you eatsomething you know.
So like, make sure you havesomeone to hold you accountable.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, yeah.
You know what?
Recently I've been listening tothe Mel Robbins podcast and
she's been talking about andreally giving resources, about.
You know how do you how to getyour life back Right?
And one of the episodes Irealized I'm like I just need
sleep, like I just need to takea nap.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
You know, a nap will change everything.
I promise you, I'm a bigproponent of naps too.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
So you know, taking ensuring that you're not so
booked up where you can't takecare of you, that you're not so
booked up where you can't takecare of you, and sometimes that
means taking a nap, sometimesthat means going to get a
massage, sometimes that meansgoing with Mario to the gym and
working out right, releasing,you know those things that you
(19:50):
need to release those stressors.
And I think it's important that, as employees, especially if
you are a hard worker likemyself, you go to work and you
want to give 100%, but sometimesyou can't give 100% right, and
so that kind of leads me tothinking like you can't put all
(20:10):
your eggs in one basket.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
You can't.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
You can't, you can't.
You know, if you have a weekand you know it's going to be
busy, you have to prepareyourself, you have to embrace,
for, you know, just having along week, and so I think it's
important that too, that youstart off your week well.
And so what I try to do is, onSundays, after church, after I
(20:35):
go to you know, eat or whatnot,let me take a nap, because this
is going to help prepare me forMonday, tuesday, wednesday, all
the way into Friday and Saturday.
So thank you so much for that,that insight.
Mario, can you give us some,maybe some signs of burnout when
(20:59):
you realize?
You know what?
I think I pushed myself too far.
Tell us what do you think?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
For me.
As Elena said, I think we'reall kind of in the same boat.
I work a million jobs.
Well, I say a million, but it'snot really a million, but it
feels like that sometimes.
Yeah, as you can see, you knowit's a Saturday and we're all
kind of working with the podcast, but I'm literally in my clinic
and, as you stated, I'm goingto the gym with me.
I'm a fitness instructor aswell as working with NHR and
(21:32):
talent and just combined with alot of different tasks For me.
I think the signs for burnoutfor me are when I always feel
tired.
I always feel like I need tosleep longer, no matter what I
do, no matter how I try to takesome me time or some time to
(21:53):
myself, if I'm always feelinglike I can't recharge.
I'm getting more sleep, I'mdoing more things physically for
my physical, I'm going to thegym, which again also benefits
you mentally as well but I'mstill feeling tired.
So I feel like that's a sign ofburnout.
(22:14):
Another sign I've seen, not justwithin myself but within other
people you start to lose thatbalance that you have.
You cannot manage the thingsthat you have set up.
You have it structured out, butyou're still somehow not
actually getting the job donecompletely.
Not actually getting the jobdone completely.
You're still before you can getdone.
(22:36):
You can't.
You don't think as well.
Elena, you said you like toread, so could you imagine
trying to read and your focus isleaving while you're trying to
read because your eyes are tired, you know so signs like that
I'm saying the words but I'm notreading anything, you're not
comprehending it, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
And so, look, I just fall asleep.
So, elena, what are some lastminute tips or insights that you
want to give to our listenersabout work-life balance?
And, really, how do they setthose boundaries without
jeopardizing their careers ortheir jobs?
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Well, prince, that's a that's a great question.
Jeopardizing their careers ortheir jobs?
Well, prince, that's a that's agreat question and one that I
struggled with for a long time.
Because I am a high, highachiever, I want to give 110%,
like you said earlier.
But being able to recognize thisis a lesson I had to learn
early that saying yes all of thetime is not going to make
(23:36):
everyone else respect you more.
They're going to respect youmore when you know your
boundaries, when you know yournon-negotiables, whether it be
your work hours, your channel ofcommunication, like hey, please
don't text me.
You know, send me a message onTeams or Slack or whatever.
On Teams or Slack or whatever.
(23:59):
That would really help themrespect you more because you
know your boundaries.
And then you've been consistentwith those boundaries, and
consistency is the key wordthere.
Don't tell someone somethingonce and then let them break
that boundary.
So, in addition to that,something that I've implemented,
that I've encouraged all of mycolleagues, whether they be in
HR or my industry whatever isblocking off time on your
(24:21):
calendar to make sure that youare taking a lunch break,
because that is something I amchronically known for is not
taking a lunch break.
I do working lunches.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Right, you just work through it.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Yeah, exactly, I'll be sitting there eating my
sandwich or whatever, but I'malso typing an email at the same
time.
So block off time on yourcalendar, take that first 30
minutes, you know, to an hour ofyour day, to slowly you know.
Go into your day, drink yourcoffee, eat your banana, do
whatever it is that you do inthe morning.
(24:52):
Whatever it is that you do inthe morning.
I personally, a big part of myjob is interviewing.
I don't let anyone book mycalendar before 10 am.
I come into the office at night.
They're not allowed to book mycalendar before 10, because that
is my time to wake up, do mymorning rounds, like I was
telling you, and really preparemyself for the day so that I can
(25:13):
show up better in thoseinterviews and for all of my
employees.
So my big tips here are setyour boundaries consistently,
identify your non-negotiablesand make sure you're taking time
for yourself, whether that bemicro breaks or just blocking
(25:35):
off time on your calendar to beable to take care of yourself.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah, yeah, setting boundaries is really important
and that's one thing that Ilearned about work life balance
is that you have to some, youhave to say no sometimes.
Right, and that does not meanthat that people aren't going to
like you anymore or yourperformance?
is going to go down, that peoplearen't going to like you
anymore or your performance isgoing to go down.
But again, I think settingthose boundaries and letting
people know those boundaries isgoing to allow them, as you
(26:01):
stated, to respect you even more, even more In HR.
You know, I think ourorganization sometimes wants us
to be available 24-7.
You just don't know what'sgoing to happen.
But again, I think, even in ourspace, in our roles, we have to
also set boundaries.
So, if you are an HRprofessional and you're
(26:21):
listening, make sure you setboundaries.
And again make sure you spendtime to take a short break, to
take a walk.
That's something that Maria andI used to do when we used to
work together.
We would take a break, we wouldwalk for about 15 minutes or so
and get back in the office andget right to it, and so set
(26:44):
those boundaries so that you canbe successful and have all of
the energy that you need to showyour best self, to show your
best self Before we get out ofhere.
I want to share an encouragingBible verse.
As we talk about balance andmanaging life's demand, I want
to remind you of this verse.
It's from Ecclesiastes 3 and 1.
(27:07):
There is a time for everythingand a season for every activity
under the heavens.
Again, ecclesiastes 3 and 1.
And I think, elena, you talkedabout this you know there's a
season for every moment, right,you know, in this moment, you
may be focused on your financesand so sometimes that means that
(27:28):
you're working two or threejobs.
You may have to focus on familyat a point in time, but I think
that, again, if you set thoseboundaries, if you set things in
place, it's going to help youto be successful.
So, again, when striving forbalance, remember that every
season has its purpose.
Prioritize what really mattersin that moment and trust that
(27:50):
things will align in the righttiming.
So, elena, thank you so muchfor joining us today and sharing
such valuable insights.
Also, we appreciate Barrio.
Tell us how people can find you, elena.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
You can find me on LinkedIn under my first and last
name, elena Doolin, but you canalso connect with me through
the company UMRF Ventures.
If you go to the website, allmy contact information is on
there.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Awesome.
We'll definitely have the links.
You can also connect with me aswell, as Mario.
We have the links in thedescription below.
If you enjoyed this episode,please subscribe to the
Transparent Nature podcast,share it with a friend and leave
us a review.
It helps us to continue tobring transparent and practical
insights straight to you.
It's Prince Tate and Mario, andwe appreciate you for listening
(28:46):
.
Until next time, keepnavigating your career with
clarity and confidence.
You.
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