So now there's a media firestorm over this article (see my last blog post for the link cuz I'm too lazy to link it again). I just want to say 2 things about it.
First, thank you Anne-Marie Slaughter for publically voicing my own thoughts about the supposed awesomeness of women on the Supreme Court. It's not that awesome when you consider that 2 of the 3 do not have families.
Second, I completely agree that “Having control over your schedule is the only way that women who want to have a career and a family can make it work” (quote from the article, which quotes Mary Matalin).
The reason Ms. Slaughter could be so happy in her career and parenting (prior to her stint in government) was because she worked in academia, that beautiful edenic paradise which allows you to set your own hours for most of the time. If you want to go home at 5pm and resume work at 9pm, no problem. Academia will let you do that.
But enter the big bad world of client demands and client-set timelines, and you are in a world of hurt. And there is no more ruthless client than the corporate law client. Our clients, Fortune 500 companies, wait for no man or woman. They call you at 5pm Friday evening and demand a 30 hour work-product to be completed by 7 am Monday morning.
They schedule 10 am Sunday morning conference calls.
They make you work over Thanksgiving and Christmas.
They could care less that the new deadline falls right smack in the middle of your vacation plans.
And they have no qualms about asking you to work through the night.
But the BEST part of it all is not the sheer number of crazy-hours required--it's that it's all completely unplanned ahead of time. It's all a wonderful surprise! You thought you'd be free this weekend, but *surprise*! Your client calls you Friday evening with some lovely change of plans.
Recently a male partner and I were talking about how unreasonable client demands can be. He had just finished a major deal for Microsoft and was pretty annoyed at all the sudden all-nighters it required. It was especially annoying because he kept having to cancel plans with his kids that really disappointed them.
It's great to have partners that honestly vent about these kind of frustrations. But in the end, we both shrugged our shoulders cuz watchagonnado? This is the reality and expectation in the business climate of today. Technology has made our culture a 24-7 beast of constant connectivity.
Not only are lawyers expected to work around the clock at the drop of a hat, but in-house employees are being squeezed into the strait-jacket of constant availability.
There is really no more 'sacred' time.
And that's not just unhealthy for parenting, but for everyone.
2 comments:
It's called "client management," and I think partners need to practice it. And I think more of them would if we had more women in leadership positions (for all of the complicated motivators and socialization-to-prioritize-families-and-personal-time stuff that Slaughter wrote about.)
Chik fil A is my favorite example. I'm a liberal, and lots of liberals like to dis Chik Fil A as some kind of wacky weirdo evangelical Christian house of horrors because they take Sunday off. I say - whatever. If this guy wants to be a Christian and make his private company honor the Christian Sabbath, go for it! The more important lesson, to my mind, is that Chik Fil A is a powerhouse fast food joint, despite its not being available ever one whole day of the week. It's fast food, a different business model, but is regular business really *so* different? It's just that "macho time" masculinity bull crap - the proving of one's commitment by the amount of free time one is willing to sacrifice.
I'm not talking about you or even your firm specifically, I'm talking about an entire culture that has grown up around working 'round the clock to meet petulant clients' needs, and a workforce that is quivering in its boots in a recession, terrified to protect its Friday night family time lest such protection lead to job-loss and financial ruin.
Excellent point RG. I do think however that the tip-top companies will just never accept reasonable timeframes for deliverables. Giants like Microsoft will always find some other firm to wipe their unreasonable asses. But plenty of mid-level companies may be managed into reasonable timelines. However, that means there's a 'ceiling' of professional achievement (if you measure achievement by the greatness of the clients you serve) for those who need to have some 'sacred' space (whether for the Sabbath or family dinners). Seems like you can't get to the tippy-top unless you're a round the clock kinda guy or gal.
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