Work-life balance is very important for productivity in every area of a person’s life. A person who works and loves to keep up with their personal life needs to understand how to balance their life in both areas.
What is work-life balance?
Work-life balance is one where a person performs well in their place of work, has colleagues as friends, and is very present in work activities. A personal life is where a person has relationships with their home friends and family, their personal space, and other personal activities.
The truth is that people get so caught up with work that they forget about their personal lives. Not paying much attention to their personal life because their job is very demanding and it pays the bills. Family and friends also have their demands. Imagine a married man whose family needs him to perform his duties as a father and husband at home, but work takes up his time. Another example is when you want to achieve a personal goal like furthering your education, going on vacation, making new goals, and achieving them, but your work prevents that from happening.
When there is no balance between work and personal life, you can feel discontent and very unhappy. Sometimes some people fall into depression just because they have not met their goals in their personal or professional lives.
Time and energy are two factors that can help one balance their work/personal life. Energy in terms of both mental and physical health. Mental agility will help make great decisions, while physical strength will help in the movement to avoid tiredness.
It is ok to have a 70% to 30% work/personal life. This is because not every time you will be able to strike a 50/50 balance; sometimes personal life will be more demanding than your work life, and vice versa.
Factors That Affect Work-life Balance
Different factors affect work-life balance. These days, tasks are not confined to office hours, some people have to take work home to complete a task, and this affects work. Family demands also take up work time, especially when you are an expectant father or if a family member is ill.
I remember a friend of mine whose father was ill; he was the only child. He had to take two weeks' leave to attend to his father. Unfortunately, the two weeks' leave was not enough, as soon as he returned to work, he was told three days later that his father’s condition had worsened. This predicament was beginning to affect his work, and his boss had to lay him off.
The factor of family member's illness is one major fact that affects work-personal life balance other factors include:
Increased workload: an increase in workload makes you stressed to perform personal roles like having family time etc. If your boss begins to increase your workload, you will not have time for yourself or your family and friends. To avoid this, talk to your boss about your workload.
Overtime at the workplace: bosses these days entice their staff with overtime money. Sometimes bosses tell their staff to take uncompleted work home. Spending extra time at work affects the time you spend on your personal life.
Home responsibilities: home responsibilities like taking children to school and picking them up, cleaning the home, and taking care of a sick friend. If there is no plan to perform home responsibilities it will affect your work.
Childbearing: childbearing affects work life most times. Both parents get affected by childbearing.
Personal goals: when you have a personal goal to achieve, and it is beginning to affect your work. An example of a personal goal is to go back to school and upgrade, but work keeps getting in the way.
Reasons Why You Need A Work-life Balance
Having a work-personal life balance helps improve the standard of living and improve health. To improve work and personal life balance you have to accept that it will not always be 50-50, but you will try to make an effort.
With that said here is the importance of having a balance between work and personal life:
Reduces health challenge: if you prioritize your work more than your personal life, chances are that there will be health implications. But using a great strategy to create a balance will help reduce healthy challenges like high blood pressure etc.
Increase productivity: if there is a balance in your work and personal activities you will become more productive in everything. This is because there is support and engagement from both people at home and work.
Improves relationships: a balanced work and personal life prove relationships built at work and strengthen relationships that are personal.
Less mental stress: burnout is a cause of work and personal life imbalance. When there is a balance, there is a great reduction in stress, anxiety, or depression.
Conflict management: with a balanced work and personal life, one can avoid or manage conflict wherever it arises. Conflict management comes to play when there is a conflict of interest in both work, home, or with friends.
How To Improve Work and Personal Life Balance
You can improve work and personal life balance by doing the following
Setting healthy boundaries: setting boundaries includes learning to say “no” to tasks that are not yours and will affect your time.
Give yourself breaks: learn to rest from too much workload and use your leave judiciously. Breaks allow you to concentrate at work and engage in family affairs.
Prioritize every activity: give time to both work and family. Do not allow work to take over family time and make sure family time does not interfere with work. Avoid taking work home so you can have time for yourself, your family, or your friends.
Go for therapy: if you find out that you cannot handle the pressure that comes with work and it is beginning to affect your personal life, seek a therapist. Mental health professionals are certified to help in creating strategies that can create a stable work-personal life.
Exercises: exercises are sure a great way to improve work and personal life. Exercises boost the system and make it physically fit for daily activities.
Be intentional: whatever practice you intend to do to improve your work and personal life, you will have to be intentional. Note that there is room for improvement.
Conclusion
To create a balance between work and personal life, there will have to be intentionality and proper planning. You can have a schedule that will help you in allocating your time. If you are having difficulty finding a balance, meet with a mental health professional.
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