Despite the growing attention and understanding of the need for a healthy work-life balance, there is still a lot of confusion regarding what it is and how you can achieve it.
Let’s find out what it means and how setting boundaries between your personal and professional life can help you create a harmonious balance between the two.
What Is A Work-Life Balance?
Work-life balance stems from the need to maintain an equilibrium between your work demands and your personal life. It means attending to the requirements of your work to fulfill responsibilities and grow professionally, along with taking some time out for the things that you enjoy. The goal of a healthy work-life balance is to ensure an overall positive effect associated with the quality of one’s life. It seeks to safeguard an individual’s well-being by maintaining a harmonious relationship between these two important aspects. It does not let one area dominate over the other, hence reducing the potential stress and chances of exhaustion and burnout. In simpler words, work-life balance ensures that the individual gains maximum pleasure from his/her experiences and feels a sense of purpose and meaning in life.
A research study published on Work-Life Balance found that family issues are the top priority in achieving work-life balance. The increasing workload and working hours of the employees hinder them from giving enough time to their families, which argues for the need to develop more strategies to help individuals find a balance between the two. Maintaining a balance between your personal and professional life does not mean prioritizing one above the other, but it means allocating time and energy to both. This distribution, again, does not necessarily have to be equal. It should be equitable depending on your values and expectations from life.
Additionally, it should be kept in mind that this equilibrium is not static. The work-life balance is a dynamic equilibrium that keeps changing as your personal and professional requirements change. The goal is not to have a fixed state of events but to find the right relationship between the two. Work-life balance encompasses a broad perspective involving factors such as setting boundaries, time management, prioritization, self-care, etc.
The Importance Of Setting Boundaries
One prevalent myth about work-life balance is that keeping your personal and professional life separate is the same as achieving a work-life balance. They are overlapping concepts but certainly not the same. Setting healthy boundaries is inarguably one of the most important steps in the direction of finding the ideal balance. It refers to maintaining clear boundaries between work-related activities and personal activities. It works against excessive overlap between the two. For instance, if you find yourself worrying 24 hours about your job, causing you significant distress and trouble sleeping, you might want to reinstate your boundaries. Boundaries here mean not only how you handle personal and work relationships but also the temporal resources and physical/mental effort you allocate to each.
How To Know If You Have Blurred Boundaries
Very often, the boundaries between our personal and work life become blurry without us even realizing it. It is important to recognize the signs to be able to work towards correcting them and reducing the potential stress it may lead to. To know if you have reached the desired level of balance or if you need to work on certain areas, ask yourself the following:
- Do you attend several work-related calls, even on your days off or while you are on vacation?
- Do you bring work-related stress into most conversations you have with your friends and family?
- After most days at work, do you feel so exhausted that you don’t feel like spending time with anyone or doing anything else?
- Do you often find yourself canceling personal plans because of work-related responsibilities or working late?
- Do you keep checking work-elated texts and emails during your personal time?
- Do you often discuss personal matters during working hours in a way that negatively affects your productivity?
- Are you never able to say no to your colleagues or boss regarding work-related requests, even at the cost of your personal time?
- Do you use personal and social media accounts to connect with coworkers?
If your answer to most of the above situations is yes, worry not, you can still work towards establishing more clear boundaries and dedicate time and energy to both personal and professional pursuits. Here’s how you can achieve a healthy work-personal life blend.
Creating A Sustainable Work-Life Rhythm
Here are some ways that can help you find a nurturing work-life synergy that will improve your well-being in both work and personal life:
- Do Not Compare- a lot of the dissatisfaction that accompanies work-related stress results from irrational comparisons between your life and that of others. It is crucial to note that there is no one ‘perfect’ level of work-life balance. Everyone differs in their expectations from life, and therefore, what might work for someone else might not be the best solution for you.
- Be Adaptable- the demands of both work, as well as personal life can change over time. It is important to be receptive to new ideas, challenges, or unexpected changes that may arise. Adaptable individuals are willing to embrace change. Work-life balance is not something you will learn in a day, it will take time and learning. Meanwhile, be open to navigating through different situations in the journey of finding your balance.
- Re-Evaluate Your Priorities- if you constantly find yourself struggling to do the things you love, pause and take some time to reflect on what you can do differently. Identify your skills and look for opportunities where they will be best utilized.
- Take Action- once you recognize what your priorities are, it is important to actively work in the direction of equilibrium. Start with small changes you feel are important and eventually take big decisions that are synchronous with your goal.
- Be Assertive- Being assertive can help achieve work-life balance by allowing you to effectively communicate your needs, set boundaries, and prioritize your well-being. It involves advocating for oneself, prioritizing self-care, negotiating workload, and saying no when it is required.
Remember, achieving balance is a highly subjective thing, and you are the sole authority in deciding the lifestyle that best aligns with your needs and preferences.
