AIA Wellbeing Study: Hybrid working can increase performance if boundaries are strong

Financial adviser Leelee Stone says if she could give people working from home one tip it is to hire a personal assistant.

Friday, August 16th 2024, 1:20PM

by Andrea Malcolm

It is advice she got from her first mentor through the Million Dollar Round Table and she now has four PAs taking care of all admin work allowing her huge flexibility.

Stone, who has a firm Leelee and Gower Insurance Partners, switched from office-only to mainly working from home after Covid. She and her business partner, however, maintain an office for support staff - nine all up, and she goes in to meet with them and also for face to face client reviews. The rest of the time she generates business and takes appointments from home, mostly over the phone.

“Before Covid I was one hundred percent in the office. My last appointment was about 4.30, I didn’t work Saturday or Sunday. Since I started working from home, I’ve made appointments in the evening. I don’t mind because the calls are short.”

It works from Stone because it allows her to spend time with her three school age children from 3-7pm.

My PAs are key to my business support model and hiring the first one was the best decision she has ever made, she says. “I used my salary to pay for my first PA and my sales doubled. If you can’t afford one full time, hire part-time.”

Cory Bennett, a life and disability adviser with Float Mortgages, can be in the office as much or as little as he likes but feels an 80/20 office-home split lets him perform to his best.

Bennett also enjoys the flexibility. “I find that having meetings and completing less brain-intensive tasks are better suited to the office as you can collaborate with those around you about your meetings and enjoy the buzz of a well-running office.”

This hybrid setup has been the case since Bennett joined Float two years ago. Although other companies he has been with said they had flexible working arrangements, the number of rules meant he felt micromanaged from afar rather than encouraged.

“I think the ability to work from home and make that decision yourself increases employee empowerment and our office sees increased performance and efficiency from those that work a hybrid model.”

If he had to be in the office 8am-4pm every day no matter what, he wouldn’t perform nearly as highly as he does, says Bennett, who was a Commonwealth Games silver medallist in field hockey.

“Like with my hockey training in the past, you can’t just smash the same training, or workout over and over. Having the ability to adapt to how you are feeling, your current workload and the things you are working towards allows you to make the necessary adjustments that will allow you to perform at your best.”

Social isolation

The main challenge is social isolation which can flow into an inability to maintain motivation and personal standards, says Bennett.

“If you are constantly at home it is hard to hold yourself accountable 100% of the time and you will find people start watching TV while working, eating more frequently (often snacky things just because they’re there) and motivation can drop.

“If I could offer one piece of advice it is to dress for your occasion. It sounds strange, but it's a mental cue that allows your mind to lock into whatever situation you are in. This comes from my sporting background. If you pull your playing shirt on, it's time to lock in purely on sport. Once it is off, you can unwind.”

It’s a constant balancing act, but Bennett has a few ways to keep everything in line.

Clients can only book online from 9am-3.30pm on weekdays. If they want a meeting outside of hours they have to request this directly.
He puts notifications on silent after 7pm to enjoy home-time and not have his mind drift towards work.
He tries to keep all work at home in his at-home office. Not in bed or on the couch so his mind doesn't associate these locations with work.

Boundaries

Bennett is one of many advisers who reported integrating work and home as part of the 2023 AIA Wellbeing of Financial Advisers Survey.

The survey found that overall financial advisers are getting better at balancing home and work life but with the vast majority working from home, only half said their time was their own.

The good news is that 7% of respondents reported improved boundary strength, and the ability to separate work and home. A knock on effect had been a 3% improvement in work-family balance. Added to that, the percentage of people working more than 50 hours per week fell by 8%.

However, boundary strength (being able to maintain a healthy balance between personal and work time) is still quite weak among advisers with the vast majority of advisers saying they do work at home and only 46% of advisers agreeing that their personal time is their own. Twenty seven per cent of advisers reported balancing work and home as being a ‘highly’ or very ‘highly stressful’ issue in 2023.

AIA NZ chief partnership distribution officer Sharron Botica says, “We have seen improvement in how advisers are managing stress, however there are still some challenges around setting boundaries, particularly if your office is at home – and so how do you create some of those disciplines to ensure boundaries between your time, your family time and your work time?”

AIA recommends that advisers carefully consider what is work and what is home and minimise the crossover between the two. As well as setting priorities and work hours, other tips to improve boundary strength include:

Constructive conversations: finding a work-life balance and flexible arrangements requires finding a middle ground with your employer.

Batching: bundle tasks that you’re most productive, creative, passionate and motivated about. Don’t spend time flitting back and forth to notifications, emails and sidebar conversations.

Get moving: Working out can bring a great sense of balance to your day, and also a problem-solving tool. Getting out of the office and away from screens can provide the breakthrough you need to solve that issue you haven’t been able to nut out while staring at your computer.

Independent adviser Jason Shortt works from home around 95% of the time. Occasionally he heads into the AIA Thrive office in Auckland for in person meetings/training and catch ups with his adviser development manager.

Having the right office setup with multiple screens allows him to work at home productively. With the big push towards paperless there isn’t a lot to print but if so he will head to the office which is a 10 minute drive from home.

This allows him to get work done without distraction/noise and he takes frequent breaks when energy levels are low or focus is fading, which generally entails getting some household chores done.

“Not only is it a good change-up from numbers and computer work, but we keep on top of the washing/cleaning etc. at home.

“The big advantage is getting to be part of my children’s lives more. In previous roles I would miss out on the school pick up and drop offs, award assemblies, sports and extracurricular activities. Now I can block out time for these in my calendar and be there for the important moments in their lives.”

Not having commute time and stress are added bonuses.

Shortt says sometimes it can feel a little isolating as most meetings with clients are online these days.

“Definitely set up your calendar; input your work hours, your ‘me time’ and other important things in your life. Then book your client meetings for times that suit. Keep yourself active and make sure you look after yourself.”

Tags: AIA