The need to find work-life balance has been increasing especially in developing nations like India and developed nations like Silicon Valley in the USA. When humans have prioritized work over relationships and money over relaxation, work-life balance has become a necessity for harmony in this busy world.
Work-life balance relates to finding a healthy sync between work and personal responsibilities however, the greed for more hours equating to more money keeps dragging people beyond their emotional and physical capacities. From meeting deadlines to meeting expectations, achieving work-life balance seems a juggling task.
However, finding a work-life balance is not something impossible. From actions such as setting boundaries to practicing time management, you can try different strategies to lead a balanced and peaceful life. But first, we need to understand why work-life balance is a hard nut to crack for the majority.
What Makes It A Challenge
- The Urge For More
Asian societies have developed a shared culture of overtime work. Countries like Japan have their impacts on their family planning and even marriage decisions. In Japan, the word “karoshi” is used to describe death from overworking. The industry and type of work, along with the position, impact the level of pressure work puts on personal lives. Moreover, the “DINK” lifestyle has become a new buzzword for “Double Income, No Kids” as a result of this urge for more.
- Long Commutes
Long hours in commutation between workplace and home becomes another challenge that consumes around 5 hours on an average in populated cities. This can disrupt routines, strain relationships, and make it challenging to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
- Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)
In the era of super connectivity and overly sharing “the perfect lifestyles” and “freedom lives,” FOMO hypes up the expectations from lives, even though they are not affordable. The desire to wear and carry brands forces us to continue the vicious cycle of more work, more money, and more affordability for lavish lifestyles.
- Globalisation and Inflation
Lack of financial literacy clubbed with inflation eats up people’s time, effort, and money ratios leaving them working day and night only to depend on salary credits at the end of the month.
This can lead to shift work, inconsistent work hours, and work on the weekends or on holidays, which makes it difficult to consistently strike a work-life balance.
The Need For Work-Life Balance
- Health Is Wealth
Chronic stress, long work hours, and neglecting personal needs breed lifestyle diseases, which are the leading causes of death. Minimizing stress is essential for mental health and to avoid scenarios where highly successful youngsters prefer to commit suicide.
- Higher Productivity
When the targets seem to be never-ending, its not necessary that you are working less. There might be an imbalance in the work-life that needs to be corrected. Lack of regular breaks often result in decreased productivity, decreased job satisfaction, and higher rates of absenteeism and turnover.
- Creativity and Innovation
Lack of work-life harmony results in hampered creativity and innovation. Taking part in extracurricular activities broadens one’s horizons, promotes divergent thinking, and produces fresh perspectives and ideas that can be applied to problems and endeavors at work.
- Long-term sustainability
People run the risk of burning out without a sustainable approach to work-life balance, which can have detrimental effects on their careers, health, and general well-being. People can manage their energy and resources sustainably over time by putting work-life balance first, which increases resilience and success in both their personal and professional lives.
Tips For Work-life Balance
- Breaks During Workday
According to the data by US Travel organization, productive employees work for about 52 minutes at a stretch and take 17 minutes of break. This allows their mind to disengage and refresh without losing focus. Moreover, big giants like Google, Microsoft, and the like give importance to work-life balance by including sports activities, gym, etc to the workplace.
- Finding the Right Place
Working for a job that offers a healthy work-life balance helps add enjoyment and excitement to work. Delight from work while earning and flexibility in leave cultures ensure smooth work environments. Places where recruiters respect work-life balance are most favorable for healthy minds.
- Separate Work From Home
Work-related activities must stop as you step out of your office premises. Company owners and higher authorities must understand that office hours need to be restricted to office hours only. Employees can communicate their needs in unity to ensure the right implementation.
- Stress Management Activities
Team building activities like Fun Fridays, Monthly Trips, or regular meditation sessions can improve the work environment and thus ensure work-life balance to a better level. Also, pursuing hobbies outside of work may help in managing emotions along with boosting self-worth, self-esteem, and confidence.
Thus, ensuring work-life balance in this busy world is a must for every person who is earning a living or living with a person who is into it. When someone successfully strikes this balance, they can devote the same amount of time to work-related tasks and personal matters without feeling stressed or overburdened. Acquiring knowledge about the significance of preserving equilibrium between your work and personal lives could aid you in overcoming unfavorable feelings and creating efficient time management plans. In this post, we discuss the significance of work-life balance, go over some of its advantages, and offer actions you can take to improve your sense of balance.
