Life-Work Balance at Green Earth Organics

On Sundays and holidays, I have often had the experience of people exclaiming in surprise: "You're working today?" I think some people start to think that I work every day, which is hardly the impression I want to give. At Green Earth Organics, we believe in seeking a good work-life balance as part of a healthy life. Stress is very hard on the body, and all the wonderful organic food we consume will not heal us if our minds and bodies are over-worked.

Good work-life balance can be difficult at a small company. With only a handful of employees, there isn't always someone to adequately cover for vacations and to share in the extra work during busy times. Still, we all pitch in and make it work. Here are our tips for balancing leisure and business:

Enjoy your commute: Many of us at Green Earth Organics are lucky enough to be able to walk or cycle to work, which gets us some exercise, fresh air, and, especially in the early morning summer sun, pleasure. But if you have to drive or travel by public transit, consider uplifting audio books (available from the library) or good music to get your day started and ended on a positive note.

Lose the commute: Telecommuting can be especially valuable if you have a long commute: time taken off the commute can be used for leisure or other chores. I work from home on Sundays, allowing me to get laundry done between email responses and save the hour I would spend getting to and from the warehouse. Other companies may be able to offer flex-time, so you work more hours per day but fewer days, thus doing less commuting over time.

Take advantage of slow periods: When our members are on vacation, we take vacations too. I was recently gone for a week, and my co-worker, Esther, who usually only works part-time, was able to cover my full-time work and her usual tasks as well because July and August are slightly less busy for us. By the end of the summer, all of us in the office will have had a vacation and we will be recharged and ready to help all our members during our busy fall season.

Be flexible: This is perhaps the most important point for us. Small companies have the advantage of being flexible and more able to change employee schedules and roles to suit everyone. Dan, the owner of Green Earth Organics Vancouver, recently logged in to design the next week's bin while on vacation in Kelowna. Doing so saved us several hours of work in the office, as he can design the bin much more quickly than we can, but only cost him a brief interlude in his vacation. During the summer, I often do my Sunday work shift using a tablet computer from the road. I'm an early riser and am often up before my travel companions, so I can work before they get up and enjoy a weekend away at the same time. Sometimes this leads to silly situations, such as this past weekend when I landed my paraglider in Pemberton, then pulled out my smart phone to retrieve members' orders and call them in to the bakery before their deadline. This is what my work-life balance looks like right now:

No matter what your school, work, and family situations, we hope you will enjoy the rest of the summer!