Introduction
Work-life balance is a trending topic on social media nowadays. Employees, employees, and researchers are discussing work-life balance openly online. In this article, we will discuss what is work-life balance and how you can achieve it. Companies need their employees to be fit both mentally and physically. Proper work-life balance certainly helps to achieve this. Work-life balance is a system of prioritisation where a working person meets the demands of their career and personal life without sacrificing one over the other. Some situations that adversely affect the work-life balance are an increased workload, long working hours, and having children or elderly parents who need constant care at home.
Why is work-life balance important?
Employees nowadays have several mental health issues in the workplace due to chronic stress and burnout. As a result, there is an ongoing crisis of depression and anxiety disorders. While in the lockdown, employees lacked critical social interaction, making it hard to cope with family issues in their household. As a result, some factors like domestic violence increased making it harder for families to stick together. This adversely affected their personal lives. After the lockdown, however, remote and hybrid working models have become popularised. However, as remote working is not strictly an hourly job, those who are not vigilant will have a difficult time balancing family and work life effectively. According to Zippia, 43% remote employees work over 40 hours a week and more than onsite employees do.
Chronic stress results because of longer working hours and lesser social interactions will result in mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and emotional detachment from work. A disengaged employee can be a serious concern for his family and the company. Hence, avoiding such scenarios in the first place must be a major priority for employees as well as their employers. Burnouts are pretty common as the employees are going through a lot like pandemics, health issues, family issues, economic crises, pay differences, a lack of job security, and identity crises. At least 77% employees have experienced burnout at least once in their current jobs (Source: Zippia).
A threatening economic crisis and climate change are also contributing to their stress. Stress, when tolerated for too long, can result in burnout. At first, it may manifest itself in the form of mood swings and irritability. After a while, it progresses to constant feelings of stress and chronic fatigue and takes a toll on the employees' productivity. With many things going wrong, the employee starts taking sick leaves for relief. Even substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, and existential crises are commonplace in employees suffering from burnout and mental health issues. Here are 9 tips on how to have a healthy work-life balance according to Business News Daily.
How to achieve a healthy work-life balance?
1. Know that there is no "perfect" work-life balance.
Perfect work-life balance does not exist, at least in real life. There will be times when your family needs your full attention. There will also be times when you will be working your heart out at your workplace to meet a deadline. A rigid idea of the perfect work-life balance will only hinder your progress. You might have the idea of having an extremely productive day at work and leaving early to spend the rest of the evening playing with your kids, attending social events, or spending time with your family. However, this is not always the case. Expecting it to be a routine is impossible.
There will always be clashes between your professional and personal life. This is why striving for a realistic idea of work-life balance will help you better. Constantly revisit your priorities and work on creating a realistic work-life balance in your life. Being flexible and open to the opportunities or demands of your personal and professional lives will help you glide through both of these areas of your life without stress.
2. Find a job that you love.
Your work takes up around one-third of your day, if not more. This is why you should have passion for your job. Without a strong sense of belonging or a passion for your job, stress and dissatisfaction with your life will only increase. This, in turn, will lead to the emotional health problems mentioned above. You don't have to love every aspect of your job. However, there must be a major element of your job that you enjoy and look forward to attending to every day. It must be enough for you to get yourself out of bed every morning.
If your job is emotionally draining or you don't enjoy what you do every day, then it is time to look for a new job that you enjoy. Working for a toxic person, in a toxic environment, or having a job that you don't enjoy will only drain your emotional health. Also, there are certain jobs that you do love but are toxic to your emotional health. They might not allow you to maintain a healthy work-life balance despite having a wow factor for you. They won't let you enjoy your family time by making you work longer hours. This is also a case where you should look for new job opportunities.
3. Prioritize your health.
Health is your greatest asset in this world. Without proper physical and mental health, you cannot function properly or be more productive at work. If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, or burnout, inform your employer and take a day off. If you are physically unwell, don't overexert yourself by working through your illness. Prioritizing your health will not only improve your physical and emotional health but also boost your productivity and work-life balance.
If therapy is needed for your depression, then go for it without wasting time at work. Ignoring your physical and mental health issues will only ruin your professional life. Overworking also prevents you from becoming the best version of yourself. You will also take more holidays in the future due to your current disregard for your health issues. You don't have to take extreme measures to preserve your physical and mental health. Instead, you can follow simple steps and engage in daily exercise, meditation, or other activities to preserve your health.
4. Unplug from your job.
Taking time off from your everyday work requirements will improve your work-life balance and productivity. It will prevent you from draining or overexerting yourself by giving you smaller pauses and breaks in between your work sessions. You don't have to take weeks or months of holidays to unplug from your work environment. However, there is a recent trend of taking a long sabbatical to preserve your mental health.
Instead, you can take smaller pauses between your transits instead of replying to work emails and use that time to think or reminisce. Having such a bridge will free your mind and reinvigorate your thinking patterns. Using every break to complete your work-related tasks will inhibit your thought process and increase this stress factor in your life. This is why you should not be afraid to take smaller and longer breaks, and even sabbaticals, from time to time. These self-preservation strategies will help with a healthy work-life balance.
5. Take vacations.
Sometimes taking short breaks is not enough to get your mental health back on track. This is where taking vacations and spending time with your family or by yourself comes in. In recent times, there has been a trend of staycations and remote working from tourist destinations, thanks to the emergence of the internet and remote working models. You can use these options to keep your mental health issues in check. Don't be afraid to take long vacations with your family. Also, travel alone so that you find your inner self before returning to your daily job.
Often, employees are worried that taking time off will disrupt their workflow. They will be concerned about the backlog they will have when they return from their vacations. However, this fear should not hinder you from taking your much-needed vacations because the backlog is less important than your mental or physical health. Additionally, vacations will give you time to spend with your family or get in touch with yourself, which in turn will boost your productivity and understanding of yourself.
However, vacations are largely unused in many countries for several reasons. The U.S. Travel Association's State of American Vacation 2018 study found that 52% of employees said they had unused vacation days remaining at the end of the year. So instead of worrying about the workload, go on a vacation. Either take a trip to the beach of your dreams or travel solo to a remote island so that you take your stress away from yourself.
6. Make time for yourself and your loved ones.
Work is important for your economic area. However, it is not your whole life. You need to spend time with your family or loved ones to be able to become a well-rounded individual. Just because you have a hectic work schedule doesn't mean you should neglect your family or friends. According to a report, 83% of workers say their personal relationships are adversely affected by burnout (Source: Zippia). Always prioritise your family and relationships over working longer hours at your workplace. Plan and schedule your romantic or family dates.
This will ensure that you spend quality time with your loved ones instead of worrying about your work all the time. Realise that no one in your company is going to look after you if you fall sick. Always remember that everyone is replaceable and that only your family sticks together when there is a personal crisis in your life. This is why being a workaholic is going to help you with your most important personal and family life. Hence, prioritise family time before things go south.
7. Set boundaries and strict work hours.
Time is a critical resource. You can get more money, a better job, and more prestige, but you can never earn more time for yourself. Treat your time as your greatest asset. Set boundaries for your work. Don't always be thinking about your work life after the clock is struck. It is better to have a separate office computer and a phone for work and one for personal use. In this way, you can attend to your office work when you are in the workplace and leave them in your workplace. This will ensure that you can spend the rest of your evening or morning with your family without worrying about completing your tasks. Use separate browsers, emails, or filters for your work and keep them apart from your personal email and browsers.
Additionally, be strict about your timings. Don't overexert yourself to others. Follow the boundaries you set for yourself, and you will have a great work-life balance. Be sure to inform your managers or colleagues about these boundaries like at what times they can reach you. This will create a healthy working environment where you do not develop a subconscious resentment against your colleagues for calling you at inappropriate times.
8. Know your priorities.
Set goals and make plans to reach them. Create a plan and let the action steps take place. Plan your day, week, and month, and stick to your plans. You don't have to check your emails, phone, or social media every other minute. These are some of the major time-wasting tasks that will drain your attention and productivity from your work. You can use your free time to relax and check on these tasks. Always keep filters and reminders while using these applications and emails so that you do not risk spending hours of your precious time checking and scrolling.
Always set goals that are achievable and implement great time management and task management strategies so that you do not miss deadlines. Make To-Do lists or put sticky notes on your computer so that you do not forget what needs to be done. Employees can use better time management, task management, and prioritisation techniques like the Pomodoro technique and the Eisenhower matrix to boost their productivity. Keeping tabs on your time and tasks in your work calendar will increase your productivity and reduce distractions while you are with your family.
9. Utilise flexible work opportunities.
The emergence of flexible work arrangements and remote working opportunities has increased the ability to set a healthy work-life balance. It is easier for remote employees to manage a healthy work-life balance if they keep the right accountability and discipline in both areas of their lives. Giving flexibility to your employees can also pay off in the long run because it will make them more competitive, productive, and disciplined in their lives. If you are an employee, take advantage of the remote working and hybrid workplace opportunities and leverage them to your advantage to make work-life balance a reality in your life.
Conclusion
Maintaining the right work-life balance is critical for the emotional health of both employees and their employers. With the right balance of professional and personal lives, employees can be more productive in their jobs. It can prevent burnout and make them emotionally and physically fit to work. To avoid the trap of an unhealthy work-life balance, you can follow certain steps, like taking time off between your working hours or taking vacations when you feel your stress levels reaching high levels.
You can also take advantage of remote working opportunities. Also, try to set goals and prioritise family time over working during your office hours. Setting boundaries with your colleagues and managers and letting them know when you will be available will help you to a certain extent, and finally, finding a job that you love will decrease your stress and increase your passion for working. All in all, creating a healthy work-life balance largely relies on your discipline and skills.
SNATIKA offers UK Masters degree programs to senior professionals who need a prestigious higher education to advance in their lives. Visit SNATIKA if you want to know more about the benefits and advantages of our prestigious Masters degree programs.
Citations
Sanfilipo, Marisa. “How to Improve Your Work-Life Balance - businessnewsdaily.com.” Business News Daily, 24 Oct. 2022, www.businessnewsdaily.com/5244-improve-work-life-balance-today.html.