Your Personal Life Plays a Crucial Role in Your Work Life

When managing a team, we often focus on what’s visible in the workplace. For those of us who travel frequently, it’s harder to gauge. Are employees meeting KPIs and sales targets? Are they successfully interacting with others on the team? Overall, do they demonstrate focus and engagement? These aspects are easy to assess; from tracking deliverables to observing contributions in meetings, team members show what they can (or can't) deliver every day.

But what about what we don’t see? Behind every professional exterior, each boss, colleague, and subordinate has a personal life, with its own highs and lows. While separating work and personal life is important, it’s also critical to remember that outside of work, employees may be facing serious challenges.

These personal struggles can deeply affect performance and, at times, even prevent someone from being able to work at all. If a team isn’t prepared to support a member in crisis, business operations can falter, and the ability to meet key targets may be jeopardized. I speak from personal experience.

LEARNING A HARD LESSON: 30 DAYS THAT CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE & WORK

Over a 30-day period, I learned to value my team in ways I hadn’t before. It all began with my father being rushed to the emergency room with a blocked intestine. As his primary caregiver, I then took responsibility for my 99.5-year-old grandmother, who was also hospitalized shortly after.

On day 21, my wife went into labor. My grandmother's health was failing, and I said my last goodbyes before heading to be with my wife. The joy of welcoming our baby quickly turned into panic when complications arose—our daughter was delivered lifeless, with a cord wrapped around her neck. Thankfully, she was resuscitated and, after a 7-day stay in the Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), we brought her home.

During those 30 days, I was absent from work. If I had been there, I would have been distracted and emotional—unable to make sound decisions. Thankfully, my teams stepped up without hesitation, keeping operations running smoothly in my absence.

STRICTLY SEPARATING WORK & LIFE HARMS INDIVIDUALS & TEAMS

My experience proves that it’s not always possible to separate work and personal life. I had to inform my teams about my situation and that I wouldn’t be available. This wasn’t a sign of weakness—it was simply necessary. Research published in Human Relations examined how separating personal and professional roles creates stress, particularly when individuals struggle to transition between these roles. This stress can spill over into the workplace, negatively impacting performance. The studies specifically explored the concept of “cognitive role transitions.” This phrase describes instances when an individual is actively participating in one role (such as attending a work meeting) while mentally concentrating on a different role (like being present for a sick loved one). Researchers identified these transitions as a significant source of stress in the workplace, which can subsequently affect colleagues.

Those who try to maintain a strict divide between work and life often exert more mental effort during transitions, which ultimately harms their performance.

BUILDING RESILIENT TEAMS: ACKNOWLEDGE THE PERSONAL & PREPARE FOR CHALLENGES

The lesson is clear: we don’t know what our colleagues are dealing with outside of work. Therefore, it’s essential to be supportive and prepared for any situation. It’s also critical to have systems in place to ensure the team can step up in times of need. In my case, having redundancies built into my teams allowed everything to run smoothly during my absence—something I recommend to others.

As business leaders, we must not only focus on company objectives but also remember the individuals behind those goals. By recognizing that employees have personal lives that may affect their work, we can create stronger, more resilient teams. These teams are the foundation on which strong, successful companies are built.

Mike Cioffi is the founder of Talent Traction. You can reach him directly at [email protected] if you have any questions about this article.