Are you feeling tired more than ever? Are you working so much that you are starting to question yourself? Is this bringing thoughts like “I don’t know what to do with my life” All this probably is the case of a bad balance between work and life. Knowing how to achieve work life balance is very important.
According to a Gallup report, 51% of employees in the US are disengaged in their workplace. Poor employee engagement results in a lack of motivation. This indeed leads to a disruption in work and life balance as they do not feel appreciated enough. There is also a study showing that 60% of employees in the US believe they have an unhealthy work life balance.
So, what should you do? You should focus on how to achieve work life balance. Before that, let us see why is work life balance important and exactly what is work life balance?
What is Work Life Balance?
Anyone and everyone need to understand the work life balance meaning. We often can explain what it means, it is easy to. It basically suggests an individual must balance the time he/she is spending on work-related activities and other activities in his/her personal life.
Implementing work life balance is not that easy. You may have to run on a trial and error basis to see what fits your schedule. An unhealthy schedule can indeed hurt your life. It can cause stress, exhaustion, irritation, etc
What Leads to an Unhealthy Work Life Balance?
You might have heard people saying I have no work life balance. Separating work and personal life can be a task and so have you ever thought about how you slide into such a schedule? What did go wrong? Here are 8 signs of poor balance between work and life:
- Longer working hours
- No proper breaks for yourself
- Increased responsibility at work or home
- Poor physical health due to not exercising
- Irregular sleep
- Poor relationship with people around you
- No set goal for life
- No hobbies
Harmful Impact of Poor Work Life Balance
If you are not aware of how to balance work and life, it can hurt you, and may even be damaging enough. We saw above the factors that affect our work life balance but how does it affect it?
- A poor balance between work and life can lead to depression, anxiety, mental disorders, and heart diseases.
- Some work life balance surveys have also shown that employees working for more than 55 hours a week have a higher risk of stroke.
- Hours of working late can also cause sleep deprivation.
- You may also feel body pains because of a lack of energy which will also lead to unable to focus on any work.
Along with these, there are mental issues as well that can arise from poor balance. You may start overthinking and might not ever stay satisfied with what you are doing. You will feel the need to do something or the other and not prioritize your work or know when to stop.
How to Achieve Work Life Balance?
One thing you should keep in mind is that there is no perfect way to achieve work life balance. Also, you should not try achieving your balance in a single day. If you can do so, nothing could be better. Although it is not always realistic. So it is recommended to achieve your balance between your work and life across a week.
Now, here are some tips to improve or achieve your work life balance.
- Do a job that you love. It is not always easy to have that luxury but give it enough importance. Choosing a job that you love can take an immense amount of stress off you through difficult times.
- Plan your activities in advance. Planning your day can never hurt. It will actually save your time and you will know exactly what you need to do and when. Trust me this will be immensely helpful.
- Do not overdo it. Allot specific time to your tasks, if you are not able to balance your tasks efficiently. Time allotment will help you to know when exactly you need to stop.
- Take needed breaks. It is important to know your limit physically and mentally. Do not overlook it and plan a break for yourself. Go enjoy a weekend away from work or if it’s been a long since the last break then takes a week off and try to do something with your friends and family.
- Communicate with your colleagues. It is better to try and know your colleagues as you will be working for 7-9 hours a day with them. Get to know them, take lunch together, and talk to them about what’s common between you and them.
Why Achieving Work Life Balance is Essential?
If you know how to achieve work life balance, you can help yourself in many ways. It is critical that you understand the importance of having a proper balance between work and life.
- Achieving this balance can help you get rid of unnecessary stress from work and life.
- You will feel peace of mind and not be mentally tired all the time.
- It will keep you energized for longer and ultimately keep you in good shape.
- You will be in a healthy relationship with the people around you.
- It will indeed help you be creative and productive at work.
- Most importantly, you will be happy.
5 Work Life Balance Examples For Companies
Organizations need to understand how to take initiatives that could improve work life balance for their employees. Here are a few examples:
1. Flexible Leave Policy
It always proves to be helpful if your leave policy is flexible and not stringent. Employees will need a break and so a flexible leave policy will allow employees to be transparent and value their working time as well.
2. Maintain a Healthy Work Environment
A healthy work life balance requires a healthy work environment. It is important to sit with your company’s human resources and come up with proper working conditions where all your employees can thrive. You can provide helpful office equipment like a proper chair or working space, etc.
3. Flexible Working Hours
Working at a stretch can be exhausting for some and some may thrive in it as well. So as a company, you can come up with a flexible working hours plan. For example, you can keep a 10 mins break at a regular interval for better productivity.
4. Incentive Programs
You can be creative with your incentive programs. You can think of what would be helpful for your employees. If you are unable to give them a hike in their salary, maybe think of providing them more money only if they perform upto a certain level that you agree on.
There are intangible ways to incentivize your employees as well. Try giving them extra vacation days or maybe give them a few hours off where they can either come late to the office or leave early.
5. Personal Development Support
This initiative will have a long term impact on your company and the employee. Try to reimburse your employees for taking any skill development sessions. This way, you are in a way investing in increasing your employee’s productivity. Having this support from the company will encourage and motivate the employees to perform better.
Best Work Life Balance Jobs
Now, if you are thinking to switch your job because of poor work life balance or simply starting your career. Here are some of the jobs that tend to have the best work life balance.
- UX/UI Designer
- Web Developer
- Statisticians
- Corporate Recruiter
- Project Manager
- Social Media Manager
- Software Developer
- Fitness Worker
- Dentists
- Interpreter/Translator
Conclusion
We hope now you have a better idea about what does work life balance mean. Companies must try to create a healthy work life balance but as an individual, it is also on you to understand how to maintain work life balance for yourself.
We would recommend you to start slow but have a goal of balancing your work and life. As we said earlier, it is not compulsory to have a balance in a single day, do it across the week and you will learn gradually what is right and how to achieve work life balance for yourself.