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While I am on the subject of work-life balance and quality of life I thought I'd talk about knowing when to say when. If you work from home or carry a Blackberry, you probably know what I mean.

I usually start my day around 8 AM and I "end" my work day around 5 or 6. I may stop working for Sodexo at that time, but my day is far from over with two kids to feed, sports practices, and general family time. My children are young so they go to bed early at around 8 PM. Every night at this time I feel a magnetic pull from my office. And even though my husband will be downstairs typing away on his Blackberry, he will come searching for me to reprimand me for, "checking my emails one last time."

So which is worse?

The fact that his Blackberry is attached to his hip until he puts his pajamas on or the fact that my office computer alerts me to late night emails from my boss that I will often get up and out of bed to check?

Who has it better?

The working parent who drives and hour or more to work every day, stays for 9 or more hours, and then drives another hour or more home or me - the working parent who doesn't have a commute to work but is connected 24 hours a day? We're all different. Some people like to leave their office and not think about work until the next morning. Some people can't stand the thought of commuting to a job. Personally, I like being so connected all the time.

And where is the balance?

Penelope Trunk's latest blog entry is about this very subject and I couldn't agree more with her - the balance will come when we learn to prioritize. I can (and do) totally shut down my computer so I can't hear the late night email alerts from my boss knowing that I have a hard time resisting the urge to get out of bed to check what he has sent. For me, balance is achieved when I set expectations and prioritize my responsibilities.

With work-life balance being a key tool for employee retention most employers (like Sodexo) know they have to be flexible in order to keep their employees happy. The Generation Y "kids" are forcing companies to think more creatively about work-life balance and that's a good thing for us "older kids."

Courtesy of Sodexo Careers Blog Making every day a better day.