Finding Work–Life Balance, Increasing Job Satisfaction

I’ve talked to several attorneys about the issue of work–life balance. Some advice has been insightful, some cliché, and some downright surprising. One of my mentors explained that you cannot be multidimensional. You must be the same person at work as you are in every other aspect of your life. He then shared a remark by Bruce Hafen: “I think in the end, the most valuable contributions will be made by those who are well balanced.” My mentor’s main conclusion was that the attorney who is the same person both at home and at work will be much more effective than the attorney who is not.

In a small-group setting, a leading figure was asked this same question about how to find the right balance. The reply was deft: “You just muddle through.” He went on to explain that sometimes you’ll dedicate too much time to work, and other times you’ll dedicate too much time to home. You make adjustments as you need and keep going. There’s no real secret formula to success.

Attorneys use many tools to cope with stress or increase their job satisfaction. One attorney told me how important it is to build strong relationships with others in the workplace; it helps you cope with a stressful situation when you are working with other people you know and care about. Another attorney told me that making sure to have small conversations with people—asking how their day is going, asking about their interests, etc.—as you come into contact with them each day makes them and you feel better and makes for a much more pleasant work environment.

Yet another attorney told me something I’ll never forget: when given the choice between two assignments, choose the one that interests you. All other things being equal, if there is one project that is more interesting to you than another, you will do a much better job on it and will submit a much better work product. The attorney offered me this candid advice by sharing a story about Dallin H. Oaks deciding what to write about one summer for a law-review article. Oaks had narrowed down his choices to two areas of law when he went to one of his mentors for advice on what to do. Oak’s mentor asked him which area of law Oaks was more interested in; he then advised Oaks to write about that area. That law-review article is now viewed as foundational in that area of law and it’s because Oaks had an interest in what he was researching and writing about.