With the fast changing world, we all are in a competition to do better than what we are doing today and what we had done tomorrow. With the economy growing to a global scale it is self-explanatory that employees are working down the clock at a non-stop speed for a better growth professionally and personally. But the question trails on all of us
“Are we really living a balanced work-life?”Before we dig deep into it, let us first clear the cloud on what is a perfect work-life balance.
“Work-life balance” a term which is often mixed with balancing the time allotted for work with time spent on family. In fact, it is more beyond this, it is also about the individuality, a person’s desire to make time for their hobby or rather a “Me Time” which can be seldom achieved nowadays. Many psychologists and researchers are of the view that people with a better work-life balance are much happier & healthy than people earning more and having no time for themselves or family. A person’s self-confidence and emotional quotient are becoming as important as their monitory gains. In the context of India work-life balance is often a misnomer. A study by Arcadis (An Amsterdam based consultancy) revealed that Indian workers did work for about 2000 hours which quite more than many of its peer countries.
Negative effects of a poor work-life balance:
- Sleep Deprivation: The most common negative effect of poor work-life balance and clinically the most dangerous in today’s world. Having less time for proper sleep can affect the body metabolism negatively. A person with high sleep deprivation has high risks of stroke, coronary heart disease, mental disorders, anxiety, and depression.
- Poor performance in work: A workaholic life always is not at all good for us. Passion is one thing and compulsion is another. Regular long hours stretching in the office should not be the course of the employee’s schedule. In the long run, it hampers the performance of employees as the company increases expectations from them which is not always feasible.
- Rough behavioral changes: Both the above facts lead to a drastic change in the behavioral aspects of people and they start behaving with their close ones. This effect is worst for the family members as they have to bear with their worst side.
How to start practicing healthy work-life balance:
- Tea/Coffee breaks: Tea & coffee breaks are the best time to interact with office colleagues and take a break from work. People should avoid talking about their work during this time and engage in talks not related to the office like holiday plans, get together plans, politics, movies, etc.
- Sports: Once a week a person should take out time to play some outdoor games. This relieves a lot of toxins from our body due to strenuous long hour’s weekly tasks. Feel healthy bring life to you.
- Avoid phone calls on holidays: This is quite common and many employers would not give on this. Unless there is a major emergency one should enjoy their holidays to the fullest.
- Short Office picnic/trips as recreational activities: Instead of throwing lavish party employers can try a change in this tradition by organizing short office trips and picnic.
- Decrease overworking of employees: Companies should evaluate the task of employees from time to time to find out if they are overloaded with responsibilities and if there is a requirement to increase the team strength.
I used to work a lot, but I tend to realize that health is the most important above all. I loved how you discuss the importance of balancing work and health. Money is important but health is more important.
I love this! It’s definitely something everyone needs to do is balance their life!
Tea definitely helps haha
Work life balance is very important to your health. If not separated properly, once could have too much stress in their life. Too much stress is unhealthy so making time for ourselves helps to not get too overwhelmed.
This is something I struggle with. The job I have now has no regard for work/life balance, because of this my husband and I have decided we want to work for ourselves. We know how to work and get things done, but a lot of the times we have to miss things his daughter does because of it. This was a great post on a topic I think affects a lot of people. Good job!
Great insights about work life balance… I will definitely try your guide.. much needed for me
Really enjoyed your tips for a better balance! It can be so hard. My husband used to bring his work stress home a lot. Always thinking about it at home too. Work needs to stay at work.
I think a nice balance is very important, otherwise getting too caught up in work and lead to a lot of un-needed stress.
Work-life balance is an important aspect of a healthy work environment. Maintaining work-life balance helps reduce stress and helps prevent burnout in the workplace. Chronic stress is one of the most common health issues in the workplace. … Employees who work tons of overtime hours are at a high risk of burnout.
Work-life balance is so hard to accomplish and so important!
Thank you for writing this useful post.It’s very important for life.
Well said ! I like the point short trips instead of lavish parties. That’s true. Playing sports is also best thing to do. Sleep is foremost important in life to balance 🙂
If we don’t have work-life balance, we will become more in-productive due to fatigue and stress. Without it, it is unhealthy.
Super important to remember
Work life balance is very important. Otherwise, life becomes frustrated. Agree with all the facts you mentioned here.
Work life balance is very important but hard to attain these days.
Great tips! We like to say, you can say two things about work and that’s it. Good boundaries to set.
A good work-life balance is so important. At my current job I often feel so overworked and it makes me super grumpy at home.
One of my biggest reasons for getting out of the medical field, was because they expect you to work like you have no life outside of work. I couldn’t do it anymore after eight years. You really do need to find a balance.
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