Another question often asked is in regards to the work-family conflict. Can you have a successful career and a happy family life, or are they mutually exclusive? i.e. do you have to give up a little success for a little more happiness or vice versa?
I found the answers of several of my classmates to be naive. This question was posed in a management class, so it’s a safe assumption that we’re all studying management. Yet many of the students felt that it would be “easy. You just work 9 to 5 and spend the evenings and weekends with your family.” Many of them seemed so sure of this answer, but I didn’t buy it. People who work Monday-Friday 9-5 probably aren’t “successful” from a management standpoint. If you just want a job that pays the bills, fine, but if you want to move up in management, it’s going to take a lot more than that. You’re going to have to work overtime and maybe on the weekends. You’re going to have to travel. You’re going to have to give 150%. So what does this mean for your family life? Well, it can all be summed up with two words: opportunity cost.
Economics, by definition, is the study of choice under conditions of scarcity. The work-family conflict fits into this model perfectly. The scarce resource is time, and the choice is how you use it. If you want that corner office, you might have to miss that baseball game. If you want that huge project, it might mean weeks of seeing your coworkers more than you see your spouse.
A couple years ago, I was determined that I was going to be the CEO of a major MNC in NYC. I didn’t care how long and hard I would have to work, I didn’t care if I only got to see my family twice a year, and I wasn’t interested in getting married or having kids. But that was the fantasy–the reality forced me to re-evaluate my values. What I found is that I don’t have what it takes to be that big shot CEO. I’m moving back to the STL area after I graduate because I want to be close to my family. I want to spend time with them and maybe start one of my own in the future. I’m not willing to sacrifice the time I would spend with them in my pursuit for money. Do I want to be successful? Yes, of course. But am I willing to use up all of my scarce resource (time) to make it happen? No. It’s all about opportunity cost; and each person has to figure out exactly how much they’re willing to give up. You can’t have your cake and eat it to, after all.
