When Work-Life Balance Runs Amok

Posted by: Lauren Young on September 19

I, like many people in the financial world, have not seen much of my family this week. I hope they remember who I am.

Most of the time, I do a pretty good job of keeping my work-life balance near some semblance of equilibrium. But then there are times when the scales go completely off kilter.

This is one of those extraordinary moments. The meltdown in the global markets translates into extra hours at the office reporting and writing. And by the time I get home in the evening, I am toast. (Don’t tell my dentist, but I’ve been so fried, I haven’t been flossing my teeth at bedtime.)

I know I am not alone in my workaholic ways. This week I interviewed one of the most powerful investors around—this is a man who can move markets. He also has younger children, and he spent most of last weekend in the office.

During the course of our interview, we talked about what ails the global economy, and where investors should put money right now, but what I remember most is how, at the end of the conversation, he confided in me that his daughter misses him. She told him: “Daddy, I never see you any more.”

The whole world has gone to hell in a hand basket, my 401(k) is in the toilet, and all I really remember from the interview is a mental image of his daughter’s sad face.

This week I started putting little notes in my son’s lunch box. He’s only three, so he can’t read yet, but I’m hoping they will serve as a reminder that mommy is always with him.

Even when she is at work.

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