Have you ever had any issues with work/life balance?
Any interview process is a costly affair for an employer. If they are short-staffed, other employees may pick up the slack and burn out faster. This affects morale and decreases productivity. Many payroll hours are spent screening applicants, interviewing, onboarding, and training. It is incumbent on those handling the rigorous selection process to do their due diligence in ensuring the person they choose can handle stress and won't bring their issues into work, further burdening and wearing down the team.
How you answer this question will offer the interviewer insights into how you cope with stress, either at work or at home. If you are stressed out at work, you'll burn out faster, and your performance will suffer. If an employee is stressed out in their personal life, it could not only hinder their performance but slow down the entire department, especially if they draw their coworkers into their drama. It's important to keep a healthy work/life balance to prevent burnout. Demonstrate that you balance both worlds. Offer an anecdote to drive it home. It's okay if you occasionally take your work home with you or if you need to take time off work for personal matters. The interviewer wants to know how you achieve a balance. It also allows you to show more of your personality and share a fun fact about yourself.
"That's an interesting question. I live in the moment almost all the time and find emotional balance around the clock. If a person isn't consistently balanced, I don't think they can handle extreme pressure at work. Like that old metaphor, when you are on the rim of the wheel, you'll go up, and then you'll go down, but when you are centered in the hub of the wheel, you are in the immovable spot."
"I know how important it is to avoid burnout. For that reason, I create a solid work/life balance by keeping my day organized and sticking to my schedule as much as possible. I spend my weekends and evenings with my family and friends, doing things I love, such as going for a run, hiking in the mountains, or taking a bike ride, and that energizes me. Then there are my methods for ensuring my time management is habitual. No matter what alarm clock you use, the snooze button is there. I never hit mine. I keep a jar of chocolate-covered espresso beans next to my bed. When my alarm goes off, I grab a few of those and pop them into my mouth. Then I'm ready. If I have a lot on my plate at work or home, I evaluate every piece of the puzzle. I make it all fit into my week. Where there's a will, there's a way. Just spending that bit of time to strategize my week allows things to feel more sustainable."
David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, is known to have several ways he unwinds. He's been quoted as saying, "Spending time with my daughters is my favorite way to unwind." But in addition to being a family man, he moonlights as an electronic-music DJ, performing across NYC, and has also performed at high-profile gigs like the Lollapalooza music festival and other music festivals.
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