CEO of Me: Creating a Life that Works in the Flexible Job Age

CEO of Me: Creating a Life that Works in the Flexible Job Age

by Ellen Ernst Kossek, Brenda A. Lautsch
Released December 2007
Publisher(s): Pearson
ISBN: 9780768681673

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Book description

You are the CEO of your life: you, and nobody else. You can establish the new rules that will help you achieve true balance between work and the rest of your life. And if you don't do it, nobody else will. Now is the time to take control, and this is the book that will get you there. CEO of Me is like no other "work-life balance" book you've ever seen: there are no clichés here, and no one-size-fits all solutions. Instead, Drs. Ellen Kossek and Brenda Lautsch help you identify which of six worklife "patterns" you fit into and how to move towards a pattern that's more productive and comfortable for you, one step at a time. As leaders of North America's largest research projects on work/life balance, Kossek and Lautsch are singularly well-qualified to write this book. Drawing on their unparalleled research insights, they show how to identify the personal triggers that cause you the greatest stress...make the small changes that make the biggest difference...make technology work for you, not against you...redraw the lines between work and family as your life changes...master powerful strategies for managing yourself, your colleagues, and your supervisors...leverage emerging work options that are available to our generation for the first time. The authors' radical new approach will transform the way you view both your work and your life and help you make the practical changes that lead to true fulfillment.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Praise for CEO of Me
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. About the Authors
  5. Preface
    1. About the Research on Which This Book Was Based
  6. One. Are You the CEO of Your Working Life?
    1. Do You Want to Change How You Are Balancing Work and Personal Life?
    2. You Are the CEO of Your Life Starting Today!
      1. You Probably Have More Choice Than You Think to Take Further Control of How You Manage Work and Personal Life Relationships
      2. You Can Create a Better Employment Deal Because of the New Flexible Job Age
      3. Your Workplace is Shifting Toward Growing Acceptance of Different Types of Families and Work Schedules
      4. You Can Adopt New Language and Images for Talking About Work and Life Issues to Enable You to Think Differently About the Options Available
      5. Think in Terms of Flexstyles: How Might You Use Flexibility More Effectively to Create More Positive Relationships Between Work and Personal Life?
    3. To Make a Change, Begin Your Self-Reflective Journey by Conducting a “Life Bucket Analysis”
    4. Why Change Is Tough
  7. Two. Knowing Your Flexstyle
    1. Flexstyles: The Good and Bad Ways We Manage Relationships Between Work and Personal Life
    2. Types of Flexstyles
      1. Flexstyle Category 1: Integrators
        1. Fusion Lovers
        2. Reactors
        3. How Integrators Implement Their Flexstyle
      2. Flexstyle Category 2: Separators
        1. Firsters (Work or Family)
        2. Captives
        3. How Separators Implement Their Flexstyle
      3. Flexstyle Category 3: Volleyers
        1. Quality Timers
        2. Job Warriors
        3. How Volleyers Implement Their Flexstyle
    3. What’s Your Flexstyle? Where Do You Fit In?
    4. Self-Assessment: Identifying Your Flexstyle
      1. Part One: Discerning Your Overall Flexstyle Category
    5. Closing
  8. Three. Weighing the Tradeoffs
    1. Erin’s Story: Addicted to Work First
    2. Preparing for Change: Understanding the Tradeoffs of Different Flexstyles
      1. Tradeoff Tenets
  9. Four. Tradeoffs of Using Flexibility for Higher Work-Life Integration
    1. Cynthia: Profile of a Reluctant Reactor
    2. Alyssa’s Story of a Fusion Lover
    3. Tradeoffs of Integrating Flexstyles
    4. Special Considerations for Reactors
    5. Self-Assessment Tools on Tradeoffs
      1. For Integrators: Weighing the Tradeoffs in Your Life
      2. Integrator Flexstyle Self-Assessment
  10. Five. Tradeoffs of Compartmentalizing Work and Personal Life
    1. Firsters: Making Your Priorities Clear Wherever You Are
    2. Family Firsters
    3. Work Firsters
    4. Captives
      1. Special Considerations for Captives
    5. For Separators: Weighing the Tradeoffs in Your Life
      1. Separator Strategies
  11. Six. Tradeoffs of Volleying Between Work and Family
    1. Sarah’s Story: Striving to Protect “Quality Time”
    2. Quality Timers’ Tradeoffs and Strategies for Making Life Work
      1. Marian: Managing Family Like a Business
      2. Jeff: Travel Strains
      3. Special Considerations for Job Warriors
      4. For Volleyers: Weighing the Tradeoffs in Your Life
        1. Volleyers’ Strategies
  12. Seven. Changes Everyone Can Make to Improve Quality of Life
    1. Small Steps You Can Take to Begin to Gain Control
    2. Step 1: Self-Monitoring
    3. Step 2: Developing a Commitment to Change
      1. The Case of the Third-Grade Concert
      2. The Case of the Family Chauffeur
    4. Step 3: Envisioning Alternatives
    5. Step 4: Creating the Right Context for Change
    6. Step 5: Experimentation
    7. Conclusion
      1. Top 12 Strategies Everyone Can Use to Gain Flexstyle Control
  13. Eight. Tailoring Change to Your Particular Flexstyle
    1. Gaining Control, Countering Tradeoffs, and Exploring Flexstyle Options
    2. Change Strategy 1: Gaining Control
      1. Control Strategies for Job Warriors
      2. Control Strategies for Captives
    3. Change Strategy 2: Reducing the Disadvantages of Your Current Flexstyle
    4. Change Strategy 3: Exploring New Flexstyles
      1. Exploring Flexstyle Options: Tactics for Integrating Work and Personal Life More Effectively
      2. Exploring Flexstyle Options: Key Tactics for Volleying More Effectively
      3. Exploring Flexstyle Options—Tactics for Separating More Effectively
    5. Conclusion
  14. Nine. Negotiating a New Flexstyle and a Life That Works on Your Terms
    1. Negotiation: Finding Your Voice
    2. The New Deal Larry Wants
    3. Preparation Negotiation Tactics
    4. Collaboration Tactics
    5. Final Thoughts
  15. Ten. Not Going It Alone: Making Sustainable Change at Your Workplace
    1. Taking the Risk to Establish New Norms at Your Workplace
    2. Clean Up Your Own Backyard and Neighborhood
      1. Cleaning Up Your Backyard
      2. Cleaning Up Your Neighborhood
    3. Understand the Challenges of Those in Most Need
      1. Too Much Integration
      2. Too Much Separation
      3. Choosing Work or Family
    4. Time for Change
    5. Dialogue to Change Attitudes and Culture
      1. Take the Initiative
      2. Model Relational Reciprocity
      3. Model a Healthy Flexstyle
      4. Foster Dialogue at the Top
      5. Challenge Outdated Myths About Employees’ Choices
      6. Demonstrate Equal Support for Healthy Flexstyles in Productive Workplaces
    6. Improve Work Processes
    7. Looking to the Future
  16. Flexstyle Web Site and Overview of Assessments
    1. Flexstyle Web Site
    2. Sample Qualitative Interview Questions
      1. Boundaries
      2. Pros and Cons
        1. Temporal Boundaries
        2. Mental Boundaries
        3. Physical Boundaries
      3. Tradeoffs
    3. Overview of Survey Instrument
      1. Consent Form
        1. Improving Employee Retention, Engagement, and Health
          1. Linkages to Employee Flexstyles and Work-Family-Life Effectiveness
      2. Part I: Identifying Your Overall Flexstyle Category (See assessment at end of Chapter 2.)
        1. Part II: Tradeoffs and Effectiveness of Specific Flexstyles
      3. Part III: Work-Life Flexibility Satisfaction and Psychological Job Control Assessment
        1. Scale Info
      4. Part IV: General Health and Well-Being; Alcohol and Tobacco Use
        1. Depressive Symptoms
      5. Part V. Supervisor Satisfaction with Style
      6. Part VI. Family Satisfaction with Style
      7. Part VII. Personal Characteristics and Context
      8. Part VIII. Outcomes
      9. Part IX: Getting Input from Those Who Know You: Your Supervisor and Family
      10. Part X: Demographics
        1. Quiz
  17. Notes
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 4
    4. Chapter 5
    5. Chapter 7
    6. Chapter 8
    7. Chapter 9
    8. Chapter 10

Product information

  • Title: CEO of Me: Creating a Life that Works in the Flexible Job Age
  • Author(s): Ellen Ernst Kossek, Brenda A. Lautsch
  • Release date: December 2007
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 9780768681673