CAREER CORNER
www.lawcrossing.com
1. 800.973.1177
Zero-drag concept can’t get off the ground [By Michael Kinsman] In the 1990s, the go-go brain trust of California’s Silicon Valley envisioned the perfect worker. The phrase “zero-drag worker” was invented for this model employee.
In that world, the zero-drag worker had
Those skills include such things as
“It doesn’t really matter what is is,”
neither family, possessions, commitments
negotiating, compromising, conflict
Ruderman says. “It’s just having something
or social life that would pull them away from
resolution and multi-tasking. Ruderman
in your life that you are committed to beyond
the job at hand.
and study co-authors Laura Graves of Clark
the job. You could be a dedicated marathon
University and Patricia Ohlott of the OMG
runner or an antique collector. It helps.
The rationale was that the technology was
Center for Collaborative Learning draw the
changing the world so fast that having access
conclusion that having a family-focused
“At the same time, those people who don’t
to your workers 24/7 put your company in the
manager may be best for any company.
have anything else in their lives are not performing as well.”
best position toget ahead. In their study of 346 managers, they found It proved to be a careless and short-lived
that the work performance of parents,
Maybe this is just another way to look at the
phenomenon.
spouses or committed partners actually was
old-fashioned notion of work-life balance.
rated higher by their bosses and peers than
That concept has accumulated baggage
other people.
through the years, almost as if you are
People don’t live for their employers, nor
cheating your employer by wanting a life.
should they. “We believe that the family experience Now, a new study contends that having a
creates positive emotions that make you
But what company really needs or wants
family life or extensive social connections
feel good, and that carries over to the
zero-drag workers in the first place.
outside the job actually is good for an
workplace,” Ruderman says.
Common sense tells us that was a bad idea from the start.
employee.
Yet having a family isn’t the only way to
“There appears to be the common perception
create these positive emotions. Anyone
that having a family interferes with your
worker who maintains a healthy social life
work performance,” says Marian Ruderman
is as well positioned to excel on the job as
of the Center for Creative Leadership in
those from family units.
Greensboro, N.C. “Our study shows for the first time that being a committed parent can
Ruderman say this is tantamount to not
improve a manager’s work performance.
putting all your emotional eggs in the same
Parents learn skills that help them not just
basket.
in parenting, but in their work as well.”
PAGE