Be Human

balance by travel orders

I completely recommend reading this FSO blogger's post about the work-extra-for-show culture that seems to be endemic in the Foreign Service. I love it when Andrew comes home for lunch. I love it when he comes home at a decent hour. And he needs it as much as I do to stay sane on this island. He's wearing so many hats and juggling so many balls in this small post that he will end up in an enormous pile of hats and balls if he doesn't work to achieve a healthy balance. His stress affects me and Max exponentially, so it is also in my best interest to encourage FSOs to be human.

I think FSOs should just trust that their co-workers are diligent and hard-working and carrying their fair share of the load—and they should understand the value of ending the workday when the clock tells them so. They will be better workers overall.

In fact, I would argue that they would be more effective workers since they would need to accomplish more in less time. More time at work doesn't necessarily mean more work done. Nor does it mean that the quality of the work will be better, since some of it may go unsupervised if they stay late. Reducing the pressure to spend more time at work will help the FSOs focus on what is most important and prioritize better.

I am the happy beneficiary of the great international life that the Foreign Service offers. We just need to remember to make sure we have a life.

It would be pretty sad to look back on your life and realize how many reports could have waited until the next morning, and how, as a result, many relationships remained stunted because they were not given as much due diligence.

Be human.