I really can't recall the last time I heard someone in the workplace mention the presence or possibility of having "fun" at work. As far back as my adult memory will allow, I can't remember thinking of a "fun" workplace as some place I believed I could earn a serious living or lucrative salary.

It seems the concept of "fun" encompasses an atmosphere, behavior or attitude that should only take place outside of the workplace. But doesn't fun entail an environment where we feel enjoyment, happiness and contentment beyond the pleasure of our paycheck's potential? I'll agree there is an element of non-serious, overly frivolous silliness commonly associated with "fun," but have we thrown out the joyous baby with the fun bathwater?

While it's true the healthcare services industry is focused on the treatment and maintenance of human health and wellness, those working to provide those services are no less deserving of a "fun-filled" workplace. On occasion, I've had the pleasure of participating in holiday celebrations in the lab such as Halloween and seasonal department parties, but there is still a severe lack of fun demeanor in the laboratory. Is this an inherent result of the abundantly analytical nature of laboratory personnel and the work we perform? When was the last time you heard a good joke in the workplace? Probably the same time I last heard one, if you've been in the workplace over 20 years.

Admittedly, one of the most effective fun-killing culprits in the workplace, political correctness, is responsible for the absence of many fun-filled moments on the job. Let's face it, every joke has the potential to offend someone, but incorporating the fun aspects of laughing, smiling and a positive approach into your work demeanor has to have some healthy benefit for us, as well as the people that we serve.

While I'm not advocating the introduction or re-introduction of jokes, gags and giggles to the workplace, I do question whether we've moved too far to the right on the fun scale when it comes to our professions. After all, most of us spend the better part of our waking hours at work. And shouldn't we be able to say that some aspect of how we do what we do is enjoyable fun? In today's economy, as financial icons crumble around us on an almost daily basis, a little fun may be worth a lot more than what our paychecks can actually provide.

Although Fortune provided findings for the top 100 companies, based on this survey, I went straight to the top and looked at what was presented as the top 10 best companies where employees feel "encouraged to balance their work and life." While it's interesting to see which companies ranked highest, my primary focus was on the particular benefits qualifying them as the best. Starting with the number 10 ranked company (I always enjoy a good buildup, although I don't necessarily agree with the specific order of the survey results), onsite child care was listed as part of this software design company's "best" status as it provides care for over 600 children at a cost of $350 per month. The ninth-ranked firm, a privately held supermarket chain, throws a year-end bash for its employees and took the entire company whitewater rafting in 2007. An independent oil and natural gas production company, coming in eighth, I refer to as "bonus city" because the average bonus given in 2006 was $21,332, with a bonus median of $9,000. Not bad so far, huh?

The seventh best company was ranked as such based on a philosophy of every employee being eligible for overtime pay. Salaried employees at this employee-owned engineering consultation firm are paid an hourly overtime rate while hourly employees are paid time and a half.

Taking the spot as the sixth best company, this research firm offers employees tuition reimbursement up to 20K per year and provides bonuses for advanced degrees. With 65 percent of the staff holding advanced degrees, something's definitely appealing about this perk. There is something to be said for an organization willing to address the changing needs of its employees as evidenced by this fifth ranked homebuilding organization that canceled the company's annual reward trip in order to triple the severance pay for employees at the onset of this declining real estate economy. Best company number four, a northwestern financial group, earned its ranking by providing 6 weeks of paid paternity leave, graduate tuition reimbursement up to 10K annually, and child care reimbursement for traveling employees.

The third best firm, a communications technology firm, was earned its rank in part due to staff visits by the CEO to all 41 company sites where he promptly spoke with each employee. As the number two ranked company, this recreation equipment company garnered its "best" status by providing $300 worth of recreational gear for company challenge winners to help them tackle an outdoor goal and generous employee sabbaticals starting at 4 weeks paid after 15 years of employment. And last, but certainly not least (drum roll please), this investment firm earned its status as the No. 1 company where employees feel encouraged to balance work and life because 70 percent of its employees received an annual raise of 6.5 percent.

All totaled, I found some of these to be quite compelling company benefits in the battle to find balance in the work-life challenge. Others didn't rank quite as high on my work-life priority scale, but that's my challenge. The complete article can be found here. Hopefully, more healthcare companies will incorporate similar work-life balance friendly philosophies and aid us in the ongoing challenge to comfortably fit our work into our lives while adding more life into our work.

I read a recent online announcement about some work-life balance programs being implemented at the Mazda Corp. this month. All totaled, this organization is launching ten new and improved employee programs designed to assist its employees in finding a much more satisfactory method of meeting both personal and professional needs, as well as promoting an authentic family-priority work environment.

Having been in business since 1920, the Mazda Corporation began as a tool and truck manufacturer, and produced its first passenger vehicle in the early 1960s. Still located in Hiroshima, Japan, Mazda is one of the leading Japanese auto manufacturers and as of April 2007, has a workforce of over 20,000, of which 93 percent are men.

Some of the programs include a special "protection" leave for pregnant employees that provides additional sick leave when they feel ill, and revision to the special working hours benefit for employees with children that extends availability of this benefit through the child(ren)'s graduation from elementary school. Another benefit allows for 5 additional working days off for male or female employees during the first year until a child turns 1 year old, as well as child-rearing leave that extends the leave time up to 3 years of age for employees with young children.

Additional programs launched this month include a re-employment plan that provides opportunities for former employees who left the organization to attend to marriage, family or child-care concerns, to return, and a telecommuting option where employees who are caring for children or other family members at can work a flexible work schedule up to 25 percent of their regular monthly working hours. Also of note are two new programs designed specifically to provide networking opportunities for female employees to communicate and exchange career growth information and a support system designed to assist female employees with long-term career planning.

It's understandable that although female employees in this particular workforce are in the extreme minority, they are probably more apt then men to off-ramp out of the workforce to provide child- and family-care leave. However, based on my sense of fairness, I hope that there is also a career development support system in place (or at least in planning) for the male employees as well. Some may argue that traditionally, the male support system is inherent in the organizational design (oops, did I type that?).

Implementing these types of work-life balance programs has earned Mazda an "Excellence Award" by Japan's Minister of Health Labour and Workforce, and recognition as a "Family-Friendly Company." Mazda has adopted the philosophy that all employees who are caring for children and family members should have the option of doing so without having to compromise furthering their careers.

With the belief that implementing these types of programs enables employees to reach their full potential, Mazda continues to introduce workforce policies that are more closely aligned with addressing the personal and professional needs f its staff. I applaud Mazda's efforts to recognize the needs of every employee as a valuable component of organizational growth and success.

In my personal pursuit of that all-elusive work-life balance, there were a few factors I had to seriously consider. Firstly, I had to honestly determine my definition of work-life balance. Often, in discussions or observations of work-life balance issues, I must admit that on some general level, balance meant finding a mechanism by which I could allot equal time to my various professional and personal commitments.

But then I realized this was a very unrealistic goal. Would there ever be a time when I could devote an equal number of hours to work projects and my family? And more importantly, is this really the type of balance I need? In light of a life agenda impacted by dental appointments, graduations, unexpected home repairs, 24-four hour viruses, dying family members and an overabundance of stress, that balance shifts from day to day. So how do I maintain an acceptable fluid level of balance between the two most important factions in my life, when the criteria constantly changes?

Maybe the key is to focus more on end-products of work-life balance, like achievement and enjoyment. These two outcomes are not only interrelated, but also simple and complex in their process and value in finding work-life balance. When considering volume of professional and personal tasks, achievement always addresses the question of "why?" Why do I want to work smarter, more effectively? Why do I want to grow my career, a better income, a new home, to send the kids to college? A major tenet of experiencing work-life balance must include perpetually answering these questions today, and also what they may evolve into tomorrow.

Enjoyment, on the other hand, addresses the issue of "how" we meet these responsibilities. Going far beyond the concepts of momentary happiness, enjoyment, as an end result of effective work-life balance incorporates pride, satisfaction, happiness, celebration, love a sense of well being and all of the possible and personal joys of living. In both the professional and personal realms of work-life balance, achievement and enjoyment are mutually inclusive.

The absence of a "balance" of these two concepts can often find one "successful," but unhappy, or engaged in a futile attempt to find temporary satisfaction within a period of long term disappointment. Both of these outcomes are usually far from any definition we have for balance in our lives. What may be key here is to realize that we can reap fulfilling life rewards by focusing on achievement and enjoyment, on a daily and long-term basis. One helpful hint is to not discount the seemingly smaller achievements and moments of satisfaction that occur on a daily basis for the sake of solely focusing on the long range goals.

I'm making an honest attempt to avoid the "as soon as" trap, that nasty little habit of planning on getting around to finally enjoying life "as soon as ... ". It will of course, require some diligence on my part but I believe consciously achieving and enjoying something each day will culminate in balanced days that are the components of a balanced life.

By taking the initiative to negotiate for these allowances during the job interview, future clinical lab professionals have the opportunity to design a work and vacation schedule that will align more closely with their family and social needs. Of course, some potential employers may not be overwhelmingly pleased by your request, however, just as many may be willing to agree to these types of requests in return for a solid work commitment that can help assuage the projected staff shortage.

For those already in the field, your ability to negotiate for vacation may not be feasible however, the opportunity to propose a more personalized work schedule may still be a viable option. The important factor may involve developing and proposing a flexible work schedule that offers not only an advantage for you, but is also advantageous for the employer as well. This is a situation where you may want to aim for nothing less than a "win-win" proposition.

Think not only outside the box, but consider every corner within the box, such as, split-shift days or a four day work week that includes one weekend day. Of course, this option may not satisfy the current need for a larger salary, but the option of having a work schedule that offers more opportunity to spend more time with spouses, partners and children is likewise valuable.

One other option to consider that may also offer some remedy to the financial woes of just beginning a career may involve working part-time or part time-per diem positions at more than one facility. Designing a less than full time work schedule with more than one employer around family or personal time can also be a viable alternative for some. This can also be an option for single newcomers to the profession who are less inclined to work a standard shift, but need more income. What are some options that have helped you successfully address these significantly higher income requirements?

I recently discovered a quote while reading an article published by the National Career Development Association on the topic of the history of work/life balance that reads, "Since the time man began to farm land and employ laborers, "work" has often been seen as an activity somehow separated from "life." For as long as people have been working, they have been engaged in the process of balancing time, effort, problems, transitions and rewards of work and non-work activities.

At the core of this struggle for balance is the challenge of prioritizing and making allowances for the time, opportunity and effort required to produce the necessary means to sustain the desired quality of living. This process is generally known as work/life balance, and has been an integral part of adult life for most of us in this country.

Quite aptly known as "earning a living," working has been considered not only a duty, but a privilege, calling, birthright, life goal, punishment and origin of pride. While there is an inherently negative connotation associated with the still prevalent perspective of work as labor, there is likewise a powerful and commonly held belief that work, as each "able-bodied" individual's duty, is the defining earmark of public and civic responsibility and pride. Regardless of the predominant beliefs associated with why individuals work, at the core of the work/life struggle for balance is time.

Holding a wide variety of levels of importance to different individuals, one common struggle of those engaged in work is that of being able to work and also find time to devote to family and leisure activities. With no intent to oversimplify, the costs associated with basic necessities such as food, shelter and clothing, in addition to obtaining the best quality and quantities of these commodities for adults and their families is ever increasing. As such, the level of salaries required to afford these things is above the average for any given population. The amount of education and skill required to secure the jobs that command above average wages is usually extensive and costly.

Although somewhat cyclic, the common thread is that better living conditions are supported by higher paying jobs and both require greater investments of money and time. Given the current rising costs of living and the shrinking economy, in healthcare, just as in many other industries, I find that we are working longer hours, more days and years in order to afford basic life needs, leaving less time to enjoy them. What are some of the effective time management skills you use to maintain a healthy work/life balance?