The pandemic and technological advancements have caused a shift within the work context. With employers adapting flexible work practices and employees being offered the opportunity to work remotely, several individuals have been able to move closer towards achieving a satisfactory ‘work-life balance’. However, a significant amount have conversely expressed a greater dissatisfaction, being unable to consciously or unconsciously, achieve this balance for themselves. There has also been differing opinions on what the concept means, and there are several misconceptions floating around that make achieving the goal, i.e. an ideal work-life balance, not only difficult, but also impossible.
This blog post is an attempt to clarify the meaning of work-life balance, correct misconceptions, and outline a few tips that can help you get closer to achieving a satisfactory balance that works for ‘you’, regardless of whether you’re working from the office or remotely.
Work-life balance is described as achieving a balance between employees’ family or personal life and work lives (Jyothi & Jyothi, 2012). A common misconception individuals usually have is that this translates to allotting equal time, effort and energy into all aspects. However, it is important to understand that ‘work’ is a part of ‘life’.
Just like life includes a component where we work, it also includes various other components that may differ from one person to the other. We may be an employee, a manager, a CEO but we also occupy other roles like being a parent, sibling, and child. We have varying interests and hobbies and also spend time relaxing and taking trips. Creating a healthy work-life balance in its truest form means allocating conscious time and energy to various components within our lives, depending on what we value. This could include (but is not limited to) family, friendships, romantic partners, health, sleep & relaxation, exercise/PA and diet, hobbies, leisure activities and other interests.
People have different priorities in life, and not everyone aims to have an equally ‘balanced’ approach to their professional and personal lives. Therefore, our satisfaction with this work and life interaction (Warhurst et al., 2008) will depend on whether or not we feel like we have the resources to cope with the demands of each domain we value, our success in fulfilling our role within that domain (Abendroth & Den Dulk, 2011), as well as our ability to allocate the desired time to the domain without interference from professional to personal or vice versa, among other things.
This balance, or integration that most of us strive for is not an end point or goal we can reach and forget about. Instead, it helps if we can look at it as an ongoing process. There may be points in our life when the weight will shift towards work and at others towards aspects of our personal life. Being aware of this and consciously taking steps to safeguard our selves from or deal with the stress experienced will go a long way.
What this means is that we won’t find balance at an optimal mid-point. Instead, this ‘balance’ will look different for different individuals and will be achieved by placing different weightage to various life areas.
Follow these three steps outlined below to lead a more conscious life that gets you closer to your goal:
#1 Monthly or weekly priority lists
Looking at your month or week before hand gives you a chance to plan what aspects take priority during that time period. This may differ from one week to the other, or from one month to the other. It is not possible to compartmentalise 24 hours of each day, all your life. However, having a broad idea of your priorities for each month or week allows you enough room to move things around when need be.
You can also use the Eisenhower Matrix drawn below to classify tasks in order of importance and urgency. You can use this on a daily or weekly basis, depending on what works best for you.
#2 Learn to say 'No'
If you’re someone who usually takes on more than they can manage simply because you can’t refuse someone, this is for you. You may not always like it or feel comfortable doing it, but saying ‘no’ to extra obligations is crucial to your wellbeing. If you are asked to invest more time in a particular area, ask yourself if this is something you can fit into your day/week. If you are unsure, start by letting the person know you will get back to them. This doesn’t only stand true for work commitments, but can be applied to any area of your life. Look back at your priority list to help decide what you want to focus on and what can be avoided so as to free space up for another area or task that is important to you.
#3 Build a support system
Growing a support system with family, friends or even at the workplace goes a long way in helping us manage our daily tasks better. However, this support may not always come naturally and may require effort to build and maintain. This could include support from family and friends, certified professionals, peers in a support group or even coworkers. This also requires you to be able to prioritise time with these individuals to build trusting and lasting relationships.
Finding this ‘balance’ could be hard and takes trial and error.
Remembering that ‘balance’ is a subjective concept and trying to identify what this balance means for ‘you’ is the first step towards moving in a direction that leads to greater wellbeing and life satisfaction.
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