Our lives have become increasingly busy in recent years. With smartphones and email access always close at hand, and a move away from traditional working hours and practices, it has become a challenge for many people to create a healthy balance between work and personal life. Both these lives are very important and neither of them should be neglected. It is possible to achieve a healthy work-life balance but in order to do this we need to have the right attitude and take responsibility for looking after both our physical and our mental health.
For most people, striking a healthy work-life balance means ensuring their home life gets as much time, attention and energy as their work lives. Many people can find themselves "juggling" all their commitments including work, study, family and friends and leisure. Statistics show that a significant amount of people experience mental health difficulties and stress as a result of what is often termed ‘burnout’.
Achieving good work-life balance concerns being clear about what is important to you in each area of your life and prioritising the decisions needed to achieve or preserve these things. For example: family may need to come first if you have a sick child or relative or perhaps time off may be needed for study just before an exam.
In recent years companies and employers have begun to recognise the importance of good work-life balance for their employees, even though it may seem counter intuitive for them to facilitate achieving this. Companies essentially want employees who are hard-working, productive and are happy in their work. Burnout caused by long hours and excessive workloads ultimately reduces productivity and can risk losing staff due to work related stress or resignations. A well balanced staff are happier and healthier and will ultimately be more productive as a result.
Some tips to help achieve a better work-life balance:
- Follow some of life’s basics – try to maintain a healthy diet, take some regular exercise and always try to get a good night’s sleep. These are the three pillars of feeling good in ourselves and neglecting any one of these will have a negative effect on how we feel. Do all three of these well and you will be well on your way.
- Learn to say No – this can be difficult for many people, however, taking on too much can adversely affect things. By understanding your needs and priorities and what your limits are, you will be clearer about the things you don't need to take on.
- Optimise your time away from work – how do you spend your personal time? Do you spend a lot of time scrolling social media or watching soaps? Some of this time could be better spent on things that will help to de-stress and energise you such as spending time with family and friends or doing an activity or hobby.
- Evaluate your relationship with work – work is a very important part of life and it can provide fulfilment to many employees. However, it can also be all-consuming and many people can effectively be married to their work. This can be averted by setting, and more importantly following, a few rules for yourself.
- Leave work at work. Create a boundary around your work/home time. Do not take calls from work or follow up on emails outside of work time.
- Take your time off. Use your annual leave rather than have it roll over. Take your breaks. Do something at lunch time. Take a walk, do a crossword anything that can give your mind a rest from work. Don’t grab a quick sandwich at your desk!
- Seek out Flexible work options. You may have more options than you realise. Working from home or splitting time between home and office are increasingly common nowadays.
- Have a good support system. Tune into your supports at work this could be a co-worker, supervisor or mentor. Having good relationships at work ease stressful situations and are important for job satisfaction.
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