3 rules for better work-life balance | The Way We Work, a TED series

Transcriber: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer:

For so many of us,

Translator: Andrea Basanta Reviewer: Mario Cal

Para moitos de nós,

myself included,

eu incluída,

our days feel filled with a million small interruptions.

os nosos días están cheos de pequenas interrupcións.

And this is true even of our days off.

Incluso nos nosos días libres.

Maybe you've taken a call at the beach,

Quizais constestaches a unha chamada dende a praia,

texted your boss from the grocery store

escribicheslle ó teu xefe dende o supermercado

or emailed a colleague while on a picnic with your family.

ou mesmo enviaches un correo estando de picnic coa familia.

We’ve convinced ourselves that these behaviors are no big deal.

Convencémonos a nós mesmos de que eses comportamentos son normais.

It's just one email.

É só un correo.

But there's a real cost to these interruptions,

Pero estas interrupcións teñen un custo real

and there are smart strategies we can all take

e existen pequenas estratexias que todos podemos seguir

to better protect our time.

para protexer o noso tempo.

(Music)

(Música)

[The Way We Work]

[A nosa maneira de traballar]

These moments seem so small at the time,

Aínda que sexan pequenas interrupcións,

and yet research suggests they add up to a tremendous loss.

as investigacións afirman que supoñen unha gran perda.

The constant creep of work into our personal lives

A constante presenza do traballo nas nosas vidas persoais

can increase our stress

aumenta o nosos niveis de estrés

and undermine our happiness.

e prexudica a nosa felicidade.

So just what is the cost?

Cal é o custo?

In one study,

Un estudo

researchers recruited parents who were visiting a science museum with their kids.

reuniu a un grupo de pais de visita cos seus fillos nun museo de ciencia.

Some parents were told to check their phone as much as possible;

A algúns dos pais dixéronlles que estivesen pendentes do móbil;

others were told to check their phone as little as possible.

os outros tiñan que ignorar o móbil o máximo posible.

After the visit,

Despois da visita,

parents who used their phones reported

os pais que utilizaron o móbil

that the experience was significantly less meaningful.

afirmaron que a experiencia resultara moito menos útil.

They also felt much lonelier.

E tamén se sentiron máis sós.

In another study,

Noutro estudo,

tourists who were asked to have their phones out

un grupo de turistas que utilizaron os móbiles

while visiting an iconic church

durante unha visita a unha famosa igrexa

remembered fewer details a week later.

lembraban menos detalles unha semana despois.

And in my research,

Na miña investigación,

employees who were paid for their performance

os empregados que cobraban segundo o rendemento

spent increasingly less time interacting with friends and family,

interactuaban cada vez menos con amigos e familiares

and more and more time interacting with colleagues and clients.

e máis con compañeiros e clientes.

These constant interruptions come at a cost to organizations, too.

Esas interrupcións constantes tamén supoñen custos para as empresas.

Companies lose 32 days of productivity each year to employee depression,

Calcúlase que se perden 32 días de traballo por depresións de empregados

which is often caused by the stress and burnout of our always-on culture.

debidas ao estrés e esgotamento que provoca a conexión permanente.

Despite knowing better,

Aínda sendo consciente disto,

I, too, have found myself focusing on “urgent work distractions”

eu mesma peco de priorizar “distraccións laborais urxentes”

over important life moments.

sobre momentos de importancia persoal.

Most recently, I found myself texting a client

Hai pouco percateime de que estaba escribíndolle a un cliente

while in the middle of my first child’s first ultrasound ...

durante unha ecografía do meu primeiro fillo...

happy client,

cliente contento,

guilty mom-to-be.

futura nai con remorsos.

When you add up all of these moments,

A suma total de todos estes momentos

the sum total is a life shortchanged on meaning,

é unha vida á que lle falta significado,

joy,

alegría,

connection

conexión

and even memory.

e incluso memoria.

As we remake our models of work in the wake of the pandemic,

Ao restruturar a maneira de traballar trala pandemia,

now is our opportunity to create a new culture that respects time.

temos a oportunidade de crear unha cultura que respete o noso tempo.

And the way to make this really big change

A maneira de acadar esta meta

is through small steps that we can take right now.

é mediante pequenos pasos que podemos dar agora mesmo.

The first step that we need to take is to reframe rest.

O primeiro paso necesario é reformular o concepto de descanso.

Reflect for a moment about what you think about when you hear the word “rest.”

Pensade un momento no que evoca o termo “descansar”.

Sounds amazing, right?

Soa incrible, non si?

But in my mind,

Pois na miña cabeza,

I immediately worry about not being productive enough

comezo a preocuparme por non ser o suficientemente produtiva

or letting down my colleagues.

ou defraudar ós meus compañeiros.

When we do have time off,

Cando temos tempo libre,

we need to find ways in which we can enjoy the present moment

necesitamos encontrar maneiras de desfrutar o presente

and savor the leisure time that we have available,

e aproveitar o tempo de lecer que temos dispoñible,

as opposed to seeing it as an unproductive barrier to our work.

en vez de de velo como unha barreira improdutiva para o noso traballo.

One specific strategy we can take

Unha estratexia que podemos seguir

is to treat our upcoming weekend like a vacation.

é pensar nas fins de semana como se fosen vacacións.

On Friday afternoon,

Os venres á tarde

jot down how you would act and behave as if you were on a holiday.

pensa como te comportarías se estiveses de vacacións.

Maybe you and your partner will buy a bottle of wine

Quizais compres unha botella de viño coa túa parella.

and watch online clips of the Eiffel Tower.

e vexades vídeos da Torre Eiffel.

Maybe you’ll visit a local café

Quizais vaias a unha cafetería

and listen to some live music.

a escoitar música en directo.

Or maybe you'll go for a long walk in the middle of the day

Ou quizais vaias dar un longo paseo

with no phone and no agenda.

sen teléfono nin axenda.

The plan doesn't have to be expensive or extravagant.

O plan non ten que ser caro nin extravagante.

Another strategy you can take is to create clear boundaries

Outra estratexia que podemos levar a cabo é a de crear límites

for your time off.

no noso tempo libre.

Instead of saying, "I'm out of the office.

En vez de dicir: “Non estou na oficina,

Feel free to Slack me whenever,”

calquera cousa, chámame”.

say, "I'll be offline.

di: “Vou estar desconectado,

Call me only if it's urgent."

chámame só se é urxente”.

To uphold these personal goals,

Para acadar estas metas persoais,

work together as a team.

é mellor traballar en equipo.

Set team goals for personal time.

Fixade as mesmas metas para o tempo persoal.

Do it publicly,

Facédeo publicamente,

collect data

recolectade datos

and hold each other accountable.

e obrigádevos mutuamente.

These goals could sound like,

Estas metas poderían ser:

“I will not check email between 6:00 and 8:00pm;”

“Non mirar o correo entre ás 18:00 e as 20:00”

“I will have dinner with my family four nights a week;”

“Cear coa familia catro veces por semana”

or "I will go for a jog midday."

ou ”Ir correr a mediodía”.

Check in our your team's progress

Comprobade os progresos do equipo

and see how everyone's doing.

e como lle vai a cada un.

If you or your teammates are unsuccessful,

Se non tedes éxito,

work together to help accomplish personal goals.

traballade xuntos para acadar as metas persoais.

Lastly, you can negotiate for more time

Por último, podedes negociar máis tempo

to prevent work from creeping into your personal life.

para evitar que o traballo invada a vosa vida persoal.

In business school, I teach students to negotiate for salary

Ensínolles ós meus alumnos como negociar o seu salario

but realize I spoke almost nothing about negotiating for more time.

mais apenas falo de como negociar máis tempo

What does this look like in practice?

Como se leva isto á práctica?

You can ask for more time on adjustable deadlines at work.

Podes pedir máis flexibilidade nos prazos.

If your client asks for a deliverable Monday morning,

Se o cliente pide a entrega para o luns pola mañá,

ask for an extension until Tuesday afternoon

pide unha ampliación do prazo ata o martes á tarde

so you don’t find yourself working on your well-deserved weekend.

así non terás que traballar o ben merecido fin de semana.

And don't worry too much about reputation.

Non te preocupes pola túa reputación.

Quality truly is the metric that matters most.

A calidade é o que realmente importa.

In my data,

Os meus datos din que

employees who proactively asked for more time

os empregados que piden máis tempo

reported lower levels of stress and burnout,

teñen uns niveis de estrés e esgotamento máis baixos,

and were seen as more committed and professional by their colleagues.

e son considerados máis profesionais polos seus compañeiros.

These are small but powerful changes to not only reframe rest,

Estes son pequenos e importantes cambios para redefinir o descanso,

but to reclaim it.

e tamén para recuperalo.

Once you discover the profound impact that these changes can have,

Unha vez descubras o impacto que estes cambios poden ter,

you’ll feel empowered to demand that others respect

sentiraste con máis poder para esixir que respecten

and accommodate your approach to time.

a túa visión do tempo.

Maybe they’ll even feel inspired

Quizais ata se sintan inspirados

to piece together the fractured moments of their lives, too.

para reorganizar as súas vidas.