Is work-life balance a loanword in hospitality?

Image courtesy by Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I took me about eight years to understand the importance of work-life balance in hospitality and that it’s not just a myth.

During my apprenticeship and internships, I not only worked the hours required, but tried to get as much exposure to other departments as possible by staying longer or coming to work on my days-off. This didn’t change during my early years as a manager. I worked as many hours as I could and tried to be involved as much as I could believing that I have a responsibility towards my employees to be the best leader I could be, and to put all my efforts in with the goal to make the department better. I did not listen to anyone telling me that if I would continue like this I would not only lose my passion, but the quality of my performance would suffer as well.

Luckily it did not come to this point and I decided to limit my hours to about 65 hours a week to spend more time with my significant other. I learned that I had much more energy returning from my days-off, and approached my tasks more enthusiastically.  While working less hours, I am now able to be more effective at work and achieve a better outcome.

I have yet to meet a successful leader that only focuses on her job, and does not have a family behind her to support and act as a balance to the stressful work environment.

Question: How do you feel about the importance of work-life balance?