Work-life Balance: Work Flexibility Increases Happiness – Maui Hawaii

Sunrise from balcony at Hana Kai Maui hotel

People are not created equal.  Each of us has a unique body and mind.  Consequently, we all have different needs with regard to sleep, diet and energy levels.  Health professionals have guidelines on how to regulate the proper amount of sleep which includes a range of hours depending on your age.  Some people have bodies that require more sleep while others require much less on average.  We hear people say “I’m not a morning person.” or “I do my best work right after I wake up,” indicating that people are aware of their unique needs.  Unfortunately, most jobs do not meet the individual’s unique energy needs.

The majority of workplaces have people run on a predictable routine in order to make money in a consistent and foreseeable manner, but this routine does not optimize the workers’ happiness, motivation or effectiveness.  As a result, many of us have to force ourselves to be overworked, inconvenienced and/or medicated to get through each week.  I recently read a paper on work flexibility from a collaboration between researchers at Penn State and the University of Chicago that indicated a flexible schedule can increase a worker’s happiness:

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Golden, Lonnie and Henly, Julia and Lambert, Susan, Work Schedule Flexibility: A Contributor to Employee Happiness? (December 1, 2013). Journal of Social Research and Policy, 2014

“If the scheduling of hours does not fit a worker’s preferred timing, individual welfare tends to be diminished (Barnett, 2004).”

“For example, among those not permitted to change their own work schedules toward their preferred schedules, 45 percent experience symptoms of “overwork,” three times the rate among those who are permitted (Galinsky, Bond & Hill, 2005).”

“This may be in part because workers that have more flexible daily schedules are also more likely to be working very long hours, perhaps as an act of reciprocation or exchange (e.g., see Golden, 2009; Kelliher & Anderson, 2010). Moreover, when combined with employee participation, schedule flexibility moderates adverse effects of longer hours, such as work-life conflict (Wang, 2011).”

“Control over work schedules, including days off, is associated with reduced fatigue, sleep problems and depression, which also promotes employee performance (Takahashi et al., 2011).”

“In sum, the empirical findings suggest that discretion over the timing of one’s work matters far more for happiness than does the duration of working time or income.”
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This research seems to indicate that having a flexible work schedule can be extremely beneficial to a worker’s happiness.  Furthermore, work flexibility can have downstream effects that benefit the employer.  I would also conjecture that commuting times would also be widely reduced if people were able to select their own schedule.  Many people would opt for arriving/leaving work earlier or later if possible, instead of everybody flooding in by 9AM and out by 5PM.

I was recently able to negotiate a flexible schedule at my workplace that allowed me time to go on multiple vacations without compromising my results as an employee.  Below, you will find various photos from my experiences the island of Maui, Hawaii.

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A few words about Maui.  I considered this trip more of an adventure than a vacation.  Maui is rugged and only partially developed.  The road to Hana and the Kahekili highway are legitimately dangerous.  There are long sections of one-lane roads with no guard rails on cliff sides.  One false move and it’s game over.  Absolutely do NOT travel on either of these roads at night.  I ended up on the Kahekili highway at night and it was by far the most intense driving I have ever done in my life.  I strongly recommend renting a 4-wheel drive car.

There are resort areas that are obviously developed for tourists but are extremely costly and overpriced.  You can definitely relax at one of these resorts if you are willing to pay for it, but potentially at the expense of a genuine island experience.  The most commercial areas I visited are Kahului, Lahaina, Kihei, Wailuku and Paia.  Additionally, I did not find that the native employees readily exhibited the same “Aloha spirit” that was apparent at most places on Oahu, HI.

Maui definitely did have its share of good things, too.  My favorite part of Maui was definitely Mt. Haleakala.  It’s an environment type I have never seen anywhere else; like the surface of Mars.  You can drive to the 10,000ft high summit and see planes and clouds flying below you.  There were also seemingly endless cliffside views and waterfalls on the road to Hana.  The local cuisine was also very good.  You can see photos of food I recommend below:

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If you’re confused about some of the food names in the gallery captions above, then check out the definitions I mentioned in my post from Oahu, HI.

Overall, Maui was an exciting experience with more beautiful photo opportunities than anywhere I’ve traveled.  However, I would preferably recommend Oahu to travelers if they could only afford to go to one Hawaiian island.  Maui is more expensive, wild, and unaccommodating with a sprawling homeless population.  There is an overtly apparent disconnect between the native culture and gentrified tourists.

Conclusions:

1.) Having a flexible work schedule can improve worker happiness, work-life balance and motivation.

2.) There is a quantifiable improvement between workers allowed flexibility vs. those who follow a strict routine.

3.) Work flexibility can reduce burn-out.

4.) A flexible work schedule can benefit a worker’s happiness more than giving them an increase in pay.

-SD