PERSONAL VIEWPOINT
Leadership and Work–Life Balance
Sarah L. Mattock, MSN, RN, CRNP
ABSTRACT
Simply stated, work–life balance is something that is
both difficult to define and difficult to achieve. Leaders,
throughout the continuum of trauma care, need to have a
sound understanding of what work–life balance means and
set an example of a healthy work–life balance for those they
lead. This article offers strategies for enhancing work–life
balance and challenges individuals to use self-reflection as a
means to furthering their personal and professional growth.
Key Words
Commitment, Errands, Exercise, Relaxation, Schedule,
Team, Work–Life balance
S
imply stated, work–life balance is something that is
both hard to define and hard to achieve. In fact, the
meaning of work–life balance is different for every
single person.
Leaders are often viewed by their team members
as role models. As a result, leaders need to have a per-
sonal understanding of what work–life balance means to
them as well as being able to maintain a healthy work–life
balance. If this work–life balance is practiced by an entire
team, it should promote more efficient team functioning.
I continue to work daily to improve my own work–life
balance. Does acknowledging that I am not as strong as
I would like to be in this area make me an ineffective
leader? I believe, in fact, that it says exactly the opposite.
It demonstrates that I have done a self-evaluation and
seek to grow personally and professionally.
In my experience, sharing truthful information with
peers has helped me, and my peers, become better
as leaders. In her article, “The Importance of Prevent-
ing Burnout Among Physicians and Nurses,” Dr Bridget
Duffy1 writes, “Advocates of health care reform often talk
about the Triple Aim—improving population health, el-
evating patient-centered care and reducing costs. When
thinking about new ways to transform health care, we
must extend our approach to the ‘Quadruple Aim,’ that
is, to ensure we focus on solutions that prevent initiative
Author Affiliations: UPMC Hamot, Erie, Pennsylvania.
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
Correspondence: Sarah L. Mattock, MSN, RN, CRNP, UPMC Hamot, 201
State St, Erie, PA 16550 (mattockssl@upmc.edu).
DOI: 10.1097/JTN.0000000000000163
306 WWW.JOURNALOFTRAUMANURSING.COM
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JTN-D-15-00044.indd 306
fatigue and burnout for our nurses, physicians and other
care team members.” I encourage you to evaluate your
own work–life balance and strive to grow along with me
to decrease and subsequently to avoid initiative fatigue
and burnout.
TIPS FOR WORK–LIFE BALANCE
There are many tools, articles, and classes available to as-
sist with evaluating your current work–life balance. There
is no magic formula, and no one can delineate this diffi-
cult balance except for oneself. I began my journey to an
improved work–life balance in February, 2015, by reading
Jen Uscher’s2 article, “5 Tips for Better Work–Life Balance.”
She offers ways to bring balance to your daily routine.
Build Downtime Into Your Schedule2
My initial reaction was, “I already do that.” The truth,
however, is that I relied on my work calendar, also avail-
able to me 24/7 on my phone, to know what I needed to
be doing and when. There was no downtime scheduled
on my calendar, and therefore little downtime in my life.
Slowly but surely, I have started to focus more on add-
ing downtime items to my calendar. Family commitments
and events as well as personal appointments go on my
calendar, with built-in travel time so that I can not late, as
soon as they are scheduled. If an item is on my calendar,
I am less likely to cancel or schedule something work re-
lated during that time. Also, I now schedule time, blocked
as “busy” on my calendar to work, uninterrupted, in my
office. This allows me to complete work that I previously
would have completed at home or even on the weekend.
Drop Activities That Sap Your Time or Energy2
To start this step, I tracked my use of social media and
nonessential websites for 1 week. I was amazed at how
much time I was wasting. I encourage you to reflect on the
last week, or better yet track your own nonessential activi-
ties that sap your time and energy for a week. Perhaps it
is not just social media or websites. Regardless, I think that
you will be surprised at the amount of time and/or energy
that can be spent on insignificant activities. Consider limit-
ing or eliminating any nonessential activities you identify.
It certainly has made extra time in my schedule.
Rethink Your Errands2
For me, this is a work in progress. Making a list of errands
that need to be completed has greatly helped. However,
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 I know there are many more things that you can do. To
start, getting groceries, hair appointments, or washing the
car after work, instead of on the weekend, has allowed
me more time at home, where I am able to be spend-
ing quality time with my husband and children. Simple
changes, as I mentioned previously, made to one’s sched-
ule can save time that can be spent on something more
productive and meaningful.
Get Moving2
This one was hard for me. Before and during nursing
school, I was a professional figure skater and later coached
young skaters. I skated for hours upon hours and I was
in great shape! Then, I had kids and my life completely
changed. I did not exercise routinely for several years and
to be honest, I felt completely miserable physically. In
fact, at one point, my weight exceeded what it was when
I was 9 months pregnant with my children. I knew that
I needed to exercise, but I made excuses—that I didn’t
have time or that I was spending that time with my family.
Thankfully, I changed my habits and now exercise
consistently. I advise you to learn from my mistakes.
Don’t make excuses. Get moving. Even if it is just walk-
ing for 30 minutes a couple times a week, you owe it to
yourself. And, I promise you will feel better physically
and will be better able to focus on your work.
Remember That a Little Relaxation Goes
a Long Way2
Colin Powell3 is quoted as saying, “Have fun in your com-
mand. Don’t run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when
you’ve earned it; spend time with your families.” Maybe
it is my military upbringing, but General Powell is one of
the leaders I most admire. For me, words of his are very
powerful. In fact, they are laminated and hang behind
my ID badge as a daily reminder. We all earn time off.
Remember to take it! Trust the team that you have sur-
rounding you to carry on in your absence. You owe time
off to yourself and to your precious family.
While these 5 tips helped me greatly over a 6-month
period, I still felt I could do better. In her article, “6 Tips
for Better Work–Life Balance,” Deborah Jian Lee4 urges us
to let go of perfectionism. Striving for perfection is over-
whelming and for some people, can be quite frustrating.
My new word is “excellence.” I now strive for excellence.
While it sounds easy, I need daily reminders that it is
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JTN-D-15-00044.indd 307
excellence, and not perfection, that I and my team are
working toward. When I focus on excellence, and not
perfection, my stress level is noticeably and confidently
different.
While I didn’t necessarily realize it, I had perhaps the
best tool already in place to assist me in my work–life
balance challenge. In Groysberg and Abrahams’5 Harvard
Business Review article, they stress that no one can do it
alone: “A support network is crucial, both at work and
outside of work.” My family is amazing. I could not ask
for a more supportive husband. My work team is top
notch. Over the last 3 years, I have taken the opportunity
to become actively involved in my professional nursing
organization the Society of Trauma Nurses (STN). The
support network that the organization continues to pro-
vide me is second to none. I have met some of my best
friends through STN. I have received phone calls, encour-
aging text messages; even a simple “I’m thinking of you”
e-mail and I have had the pleasure to provide the same
type of support to fellow STN members. STN has become
part of me. It is a professional nursing organization that
provides me with a great network that I consider part of
my safety net. I encourage you to become involved. Not
only will it enhance your career, but also it will likely as-
sist you in improving your work–life balance.
CONCLUSION
Work–life balance is something that is both hard to define
and hard to achieve and different for every single person.
I hope that you will take the time to evaluate your work–
life balance and consider using some of the tools that I
have listed above. You owe it to yourself. After all, you
are your own greatest and longest commitment.
REFERENCES
1. Duffy B. The importance of preventing burnout among physicians
and nurses. http://www.hhnmag.com/Daily/2015/May/triple-
aim-nurse-doctor-burnout-article-duffy. Accessed June 1, 2015.
2. Uscher J. 5 tips for better work–life balance: beat burnout by
making more time for the activities and people that matter most
to you. http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/protect-
health-13/balance-life. Accessed February 17, 2015.
3. Harari O. Quotations from Chairman Powell. A leadership primer.
http://govleaders.org/powell.htm. Accessed June 1, 2015.
4. Lee DJ. 6 tips for better work–life balance. http://www.forbes.
com/sites/deborahlee/2014/10/20/6-tips-for-better-work-life-
balance./ Accessed June 1, 2015.
5. Groysberg B, Abrahams R. Manage your work, manage your life.
Harv Bus Rev. 2014;92(3):58-66.
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