Recently, I had a long-time colleague say: ´Krista, you really need to work on compartmentalizing things.´ At first I thought it was a typical guy thing to say - so uncaring - and I blew him off thinking he was being callous. But I know my friend doesn´t say things like this without some thought, so I did a little research that you might find very useful.
For example, issues such as a hateful boss or an irritating colleague; or perhaps problems with a significant other, family or friends; or if you´re under the influence of a major life stress - marriage, death, moving, financial problems or divorce. Any one of these things can result in odd behavior at work that negatively impacts your performance and how you´re perceived by colleagues and higher ups.
Compartmentalization defined
As referenced in this article, compartmentalization is separating your personal life from your work life and visa versa. It applies to all professionals in private and public sectors, athletes, actors, etc. Compartmentalizing your personal and work lives is a characteristic, even a requirement, of many corporate cultures today, but it´s important to strike a balance.
Laura Michaud, an expert on family-business issues, says compartmentalization theory revolves around the idea that people should concentrate on one task at a time, whether working, playing with the kids or doing dishes. It´s almost the antithesis of multi-tasking. When you devote all your energy to one activity at a time, you can accomplish it better than if you had spread yourself too thin and tried to achieve more in less time.
Employee surveys conducted by HumanR, an organizational development firm in Herndon, Virginia, underscore how feelings of accomplishment are critical to job fulfillment. Mary Saily, the company´s CEO says, "It's hard for employees to feel fulfilled when their productivity suffers from worrying about personal affairs, and when they jump from one task to another. Successful employees are able to juggle multiple tasks and put emphasis on accomplishing the most critical tasks well." Mary says the employee surveys that HumanR conducts for clients resoundingly show that responding to crises and too many emails are the biggest barriers to productivity.
What does the good doctor say about compartmentalization?
A recent issue of "Notes on a Physician´s Life," notes individuals would benefit by examining their career goals and measures of satisfaction. It suggests considering:
1. Work as something that´s not an ugly, unspeakable four-letter word.
2. Some degree of compartmentalization between work and private life is normal and healthy, but 12 foot high walls should not be necessary. You should want to know some of your work colleagues in other contexts.
3. Being one person at work and another at home is inauthentic. If you feel obligated to play a role at work rather than be who you really are, something needs to change.
4. If you are miserable at work, this will inevitably poison your private life.
5. Our professional lives should bring us deep satisfaction and regular moments of joy. While recently interviewing a psychiatrist, who prefers not to be named, he noted some degree of compartmentalization at work is necessary and expected if you´re going to be an effective employee. He elaborated by drawing an analogy between work compartmentalization and compartmentalizing while driving a car, or putting issues in one´s glove box. "Sure, things are in the back of your mind but you have to focus on driving your car to a destination, and you need to stop at lights, maintaining a legal speed limit and so on-you´ve got to get to where you're going while staying within the guidelines."
Are you compartmentalizing work?
Here are some tell-tale signs of not compartmentalizing:
1. You cry frequently at work.
2. You misinterpret emails and respond inappropriately with flame mails.
3. You start to take things out on your colleagues in a variety of unprofessional ways: verbally lashing out, outright discrediting what they say, or simply not listening.
4. People begin to dismiss things you say in meetings or, worse yet, completely ignore them.
5. A no-brainer, but your work performance is negatively impacted by personal issues.
6. You take hours of work home with you and often stay up late initiating and responding to emails.
Believe it or not, work can really serve as a great diversion. Think of it as a rest stop from your personal issues. Work can be considered a place where you create and maintain a boundary between your personal and professional worlds, however artificial this may sound. Compartmentalization in Action Laura Michaud says the basketball legend Michael Jordan practices compartmentalization at his work. When Jordan was asked how he keeps his hectic life organized, he replied, ´I play to win in everything I do, but I only do one thing at a time. Whether I´m spending time with my family, playing golf or sitting and watching TV, I keep myself focused on the one thing I am doing at the time and concentrate on just that.´
When Harvard´s Dean Kim B. Clark stepped down to assume the presidency of Brigham Young University - Ohio he mentioned, to the HBS Alumni Bulletin, that he´d learned to multitask and to compartmentalize while in his position. He learned how to effectively leave work at the office and how to put a problem aside (turn it off).
So how does the hunk, Matt Damon compartmentalize his celebrity from reality in such flying colors? The "Boston Globe" recently reported that Compartmentalization Theory was one of the required classes at his prestigious Ivy League school in Mass. Damon told "The Globe" the split between his two lives, the public actor guy and the big kid in a T-shirt, has been a critical process for him and one he compartmentalizes in a weird way. He describes his state during media appearances as a classic mind-body split. ´It´s almost like I´m ignoring it while it´s happening. If a movie´s coming out and I go to a talk show (to promote it), it´s strange: I think, wow, I´m doing a talk show right now, that´s weird.´ And then, perhaps an hour later, Damon says he´ll be at the grocery store getting cereal for the next day.
If you choose to compartmentalize, it´s a skill you learn over time
Here are some suggestions that may work for you:
1. Practice not acting on a feeling you have; learn to delay and restrain the sense of urgency to act. For example, if a perceived criticism has you wrapped around the axle, don´t react and instead take a breath. It often helps you to calm down if you focus on your breathing.
2. Steer you focus to the other person and the content of what they´re saying or doing, instead of looking at it as criticism.
3. Redirect your thoughts and your response to the feedback. For example if your boss says, "You´re sure taking a long time to get that done," you can turn that remark into a discussion about how you think things can be accomplished faster.
4. If you really start to get emotional, acknowledge your actions as a response to something you feel strongly about, or you can outright excuse yourself while immediately planning a time when you can revisit the issue.
Corporate culture & individual values
"Our employee research shows that person-organization fit is important to both individual and corporate success," says Saily. "If the company's values and the employee's values are in sync, employees are likely to be more committed and stay longer - and companies are likely to have lower turnover and be more profitable." Saily says focusing on values in the hiring process is critical: some people like a competitive culture whereas others like a team culture. She says finding a company culture that fits you is an important element of finding happiness at work.
Where culture is concerned, Marc Shinbrood, the CEO of Breach Security says, "I don't want an employee who is different at work than they are at home." Shinbrood, a member of the first graduating class from Purdue´s school of computer science (you´d think old school management personality here, right?) says, "I believe that a person needs to be consistent with who they are (at work and at home). An individual who can compartmentalize is not interesting to me because they tend to be phony and political."
Do you want to compartmentalize?
As reported in "Take Your True Self to Work Day," an article written by Margaret Heffernan for Fast Company Magazine, compartmentalizing your life at work can be more than unproductive, it can be unhealthy.
She suggests you consider bringing your whole self to work and move beyond work-life balance. Hefferman describes some input she received from a salesman in corporate America: ´When I go to work, it´s as if I leave my true self locked in the car. I go up in the elevator and emerge as Work Self. If I leave in time, I can get back to the car and reclaim my true self. But if I´m too late, my true self is just out cold.´
She went on to say that work didn´t want his true self that he fought hard to keep alive. Heffernan describes the salesman as an individual that demonstrates independence at work, fast results, toughness and flexibility. At home, he preaches the importance of loyalty, long-term commitment, selflessness, and steadfastness. Hefferman says it´s not a wonder he´s hurting.
She hears from men and women who refuse to collude in today´s corporate cultures and insistently wrestle with the twin stands of their lives, determined to fuse them back together. Many often change their jobs, moving from the old world of command and control to a collaborative environment that equally appreciates the values and talents at work and those exercised at home. It´s a shift from leading two conflicting lives to relishing a single, whole life.
Correspondingly, Keith Ferrazzi, the author of "Never Eat Alone" and "Make Business Relationships Personal," which appears on the Monster Career Center (February, 2006), suggests you can make your business friends personal friends, in the same fashion you´d make genuine friends outside of work.
Ferrazzi says, ´Build trust through intimacy. Show them (colleagues) that besides being professional, you're also human. Skip the small talk, and go deep into what really matters -- your interests and passions, your struggles and frustrations. And don't think for a moment that they'll think less of you for showing that kind of vulnerability. In fact, usually the opposite happens.´ He says 'don´t compartmentalize; blur the boundaries!'
According to Ferrazzi, we all have opportunities, more than we realize, to overlap our personal and professional lives and to make more of our business relationships as personal ones. He notes (if you don´t compartmentalize) you'll have more fun, enrich your relationships and do more in less time for your success and happiness in all parts of your life.´
With the latest "Fortune Magazine" reporting an unemployment rate of 2%, the lowest rate in the past 5 years, some companies may be a bit more flexible where compartmentalization is concerned, particularly as they strive to hire and retain the best talent.
Dealing with crummy things away from work
I´d be remiss if I didn´t provide some suggestions on how to deal with upsetting things away from the office. You can always consult friends, family, religious leaders, a psychotherapist, family counselor or an employee assistance program, if your company has one and you feel comfortable in doing so. Whatever it is, do something you like to do that is: legal :-), healthy, isn´t going to hurt you or others, or make a serious dent in your bank account.
The bottom line?
If you agree that some compartmentalization is a good idea, and you can strike a balance in doing so, then continue to refine this skill by incorporating some or all of the strategies mentioned earlier. Compartmentalize to a level that works for you at a company with a corporate culture that fits your value set. If you´re required to compartmentalize at work to a degree that feels artificial, then it may be time to look for a new gig.
K. Milne has consulted for online recruiting companies for the past decade and assists organizational development firms. She is also a freelance journalist and a columnist for WaterCooler Scoop(TM). Her articles focus on issues that effect performance in the workplace and at home. Earlier, Krista held high tech marketing management posts. She's an MBA candidate at UoP and holds a B.S. in technical journalism, with minors in psychology and computer science, from OSO. Request her articles or send her ideas kmilne@coolerscoop.com.
