Do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Take a second to consider the answer. I am sure that for the most part that the answer is no.

While the question might seem a no-brainer, it is actually one that I have seen debated time and time again within the community management and social media fields. Sure debate is good, but when it comes to this question I often find myself in a state of conflict whether to laugh or feel sad for people.

The reason for the conflict is that younger practitioners in these spaces feel the need to be on the clock and working for their companies at all hours of the day. When I’ve engaged folks as to why this is a need, the typical responses are that they don’t want to miss anything and that being devoted now will pay off in the long-run.

Both answers have merit, but are equally incorrect.

Social media is a 24-hour buzz-cycle, but for 99.9 percent of the brands out there, 24 hour a day, 365 day a year coverage is not merited. Whether you want to admit it or not, your company and its products are just not a matter of life and death, so responding to every waking Tweet, Facebook message or blog comment can wait until the morning or end of the weekend. There are exceptions to this in terms of crisis, but for the most part, you get the point.

Devotion to one’s career is admirable, but committing all of your waking time to work with no break will lead to burnout. Don’t try to deny it, you are human and have been burnt out at some point in time.

When we reach the tipping point of burnout, two things typically happen: frustration and mistakes – both of which lead to anger. Any of those things can spell disaster for the career and company that you’re killing yourself for.

To avoid this, I’d advise finding what my friend Jim Storer refers to as life balance. This is where you have a healthy balance of everything that you need to be human. If your company is looking for extensive coverage take a step back and provide some education for them. Within this plan, lay out how your company handles traditional support along with industry standards with two options. One would be a staffed 24-hour solution and the other would give options with the existing resources.

Sure it might be scary saying no, but an educational framework will serve you better down the road than working non-stop.

So I’ll ask again do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Hopefully you’ll take the time to sniff the roses and enjoy the small stuff. Yes they are cliché, but hold truth and are essential to avoiding burnout.

Image – viewerblur

Do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Take a second to consider the answer. I am sure that for the most part that the answer is no.

While the question might seem a no-brainer, it is actually one that I have seen debated time and time again within the community management and social media fields. Sure debate is good, but when it comes to this question I often find myself in a state of conflict whether to laugh or feel sad for people.

The reason for the conflict is that younger practitioners in these spaces feel the need to be on the clock and working for their companies at all hours of the day. When I’ve engaged folks as to why this is a need, the typical responses are that they don’t want to miss anything and that being devoted now will pay off in the long-run.

Both answers have merit, but are equally incorrect.

Social media is a 24-hour buzz-cycle, but for 99.9 percent of the brands out there, 24 hour a day, 365 day a year coverage is not merited. Whether you want to admit it or not, your company and its products are just not a matter of life and death, so responding to every waking Tweet, Facebook message or blog comment can wait until the morning or end of the weekend. There are exceptions to this in terms of crisis, but for the most part, you get the point.

Devotion to one’s career is admirable, but committing all of your waking time to work with no break will lead to burnout. Don’t try to deny it, you are human and have been burnt out at some point in time.

When we reach the tipping point of burnout, two things typically happen: frustration and mistakes – both of which lead to anger. Any of those things can spell disaster for the career and company that you’re killing yourself for.

To avoid this, I’d advise finding what my friend Jim Storer refers to as life balance. This is where you have a healthy balance of everything that you need to be human. If your company is looking for extensive coverage take a step back and provide some education for them. Within this plan, lay out how your company handles traditional support along with industry standards with two options. One would be a staffed 24-hour solution and the other would give options with the existing resources.

Sure it might be scary saying no, but an educational framework will serve you better down the road than working non-stop.

So I’ll ask again do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Hopefully you’ll take the time to sniff the roses and enjoy the small stuff. Yes they are cliché, but hold truth and are essential to avoiding burnout.

Image – viewerblur

Do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Take a second to consider the answer. I am sure that for the most part that the answer is no.

While the question might seem a no-brainer, it is actually one that I have seen debated time and time again within the community management and social media fields. Sure debate is good, but when it comes to this question I often find myself in a state of conflict whether to laugh or feel sad for people.

The reason for the conflict is that younger practitioners in these spaces feel the need to be on the clock and working for their companies at all hours of the day. When I’ve engaged folks as to why this is a need, the typical responses are that they don’t want to miss anything and that being devoted now will pay off in the long-run.

Both answers have merit, but are equally incorrect.

Social media is a 24-hour buzz-cycle, but for 99.9 percent of the brands out there, 24 hour a day, 365 day a year coverage is not merited. Whether you want to admit it or not, your company and its products are just not a matter of life and death, so responding to every waking Tweet, Facebook message or blog comment can wait until the morning or end of the weekend. There are exceptions to this in terms of crisis, but for the most part, you get the point.

Devotion to one’s career is admirable, but committing all of your waking time to work with no break will lead to burnout. Don’t try to deny it, you are human and have been burnt out at some point in time.

When we reach the tipping point of burnout, two things typically happen: frustration and mistakes – both of which lead to anger. Any of those things can spell disaster for the career and company that you’re killing yourself for.

To avoid this, I’d advise finding what my friend Jim Storer refers to as life balance. This is where you have a healthy balance of everything that you need to be human. If your company is looking for extensive coverage take a step back and provide some education for them. Within this plan, lay out how your company handles traditional support along with industry standards with two options. One would be a staffed 24-hour solution and the other would give options with the existing resources.

Sure it might be scary saying no, but an educational framework will serve you better down the road than working non-stop.

So I’ll ask again do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Hopefully you’ll take the time to sniff the roses and enjoy the small stuff. Yes they are cliché, but hold truth and are essential to avoiding burnout.

Image – viewerblur

Do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Take a second to consider the answer. I am sure that for the most part that the answer is no.

While the question might seem a no-brainer, it is actually one that I have seen debated time and time again within the community management and social media fields. Sure debate is good, but when it comes to this question I often find myself in a state of conflict whether to laugh or feel sad for people.

The reason for the conflict is that younger practitioners in these spaces feel the need to be on the clock and working for their companies at all hours of the day. When I’ve engaged folks as to why this is a need, the typical responses are that they don’t want to miss anything and that being devoted now will pay off in the long-run.

Both answers have merit, but are equally incorrect.

Social media is a 24-hour buzz-cycle, but for 99.9 percent of the brands out there, 24 hour a day, 365 day a year coverage is not merited. Whether you want to admit it or not, your company and its products are just not a matter of life and death, so responding to every waking Tweet, Facebook message or blog comment can wait until the morning or end of the weekend. There are exceptions to this in terms of crisis, but for the most part, you get the point.

Devotion to one’s career is admirable, but committing all of your waking time to work with no break will lead to burnout. Don’t try to deny it, you are human and have been burnt out at some point in time.

When we reach the tipping point of burnout, two things typically happen: frustration and mistakes – both of which lead to anger. Any of those things can spell disaster for the career and company that you’re killing yourself for.

To avoid this, I’d advise finding what my friend Jim Storer refers to as life balance. This is where you have a healthy balance of everything that you need to be human. If your company is looking for extensive coverage take a step back and provide some education for them. Within this plan, lay out how your company handles traditional support along with industry standards with two options. One would be a staffed 24-hour solution and the other would give options with the existing resources.

Sure it might be scary saying no, but an educational framework will serve you better down the road than working non-stop.

So I’ll ask again do you work around the clock, seven days a week?

Hopefully you’ll take the time to sniff the roses and enjoy the small stuff. Yes they are cliché, but hold truth and are essential to avoiding burnout.

Image – viewerblur