What is work life balance? What does this phrase mean?
The answer’s in the name … right?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, work life balance is “the amount of time you spend doing your job compared to with the amount of time you spend with your family and doing things you enjoy”.
But what does work life balance actually mean – for YOU?
There has been a lot of controversy, and judgment over the years about people’s working and living habits. People can be judged and criticised for working on late, or sending emails during the evenings and on the weekends, or on the flip side for taking a lunch break, and “shutting down” at 5pm – the end of their working day to leave work on time to go home to their families – despite that there may still be work to complete.
I recall in my earlier days of entering into the world of Occupational Health Nursing, it was during a senior management meeting where the head of an organisation openly made reference to me in that I had access to my emails from home, and as such, I should be able to respond in quick time to a specific query over that upcoming weekend. I worked full time during the week, I was not contracted to work weekends, and I had a young family as well as other commitments to consider. This culture was the norm where the expectation to always be available was commonly placed upon staff, especially those at management level.
That was over 20 years ago, but what became evidently clear to me during my time with this organisation was that the notion that we can’t get a fresh perspective from something we never step away from, and that time away from work allows the opportunity to engage in activities that improve brain function – such as sleep, exercise, and time with family and friends was entirely overlooked – from the top.
Although today there appears to be a much better understanding of the importance of getting a good balance between working and non-working life, these challenges and expectations do still exist, and the nature of human beings is such that we can very easily be sucked into a culture and learn poor habits ultimately seeing them as the norm.
In addition to the expectations from others of always being available and responsive, other challenges in achieving a good work life balance can include:
- Time constraints caused by back-to-back meetings and appointments throughout the day
- Fear of repercussions for not completing work “on time”
- Self-expectations to perform and achieve
- Lack of resources to support the work schedule
- The pervasiveness of work given the ease and convenience of our constant connectedness
These challenges can cause people to feel pressured, low in mood, stressed, fatigued, and ultimately burnt out.
So how should achieving a good work life balance be approached?
The way in which a person works should take into consideration what works best for them, and the business, regardless of whether an individual works full time, part time, or on an ad hoc arrangement.
What is important to consider is that “balance” doesn’t necessarily mean “equal time to everything”. Some people may prefer to spend a little longer at work, and as long as there is a healthy and sensible reasoning and intent to this arrangement, and their physical and mental health and wellbeing is not being negatively impacted, then this is fine.
For others, it may be that they have identified that they are more productive in the evenings, when everything is much quieter and there are less distractions; or they may prefer to start their working day a few hours before the typical “hustle and bustle” begins to have that quiet time to concentrate. It may be that a person works best in the mornings, and then later in the afternoon / early evening – after having an extended break during the day. In this scenario, whilst there would need to be some basic safeguarding caveats in place such as lone working considerations for example, if this level of flexibility is amenable to a business, the notion of permitting an employee to undertake “spilt shifts” to establish a good work life balance that works for them may be the answer.
Simply, from an Occupational Health and Wellbeing perspective, at TJM Occupational Health and Wellbeing, we believe that in identifying how and when a person works best, this can have significantly improved outcomes on morale, happiness, retention, performance, and productivity.
It is however important to consider whether a situation has become a “convenience”, or is it a “balance”? An example of this may be that a person working from home has the opportunity to fill small gaps throughout their working day with personal tasks and activities, such as laundry, ironing, meal preparation, and running errands etc., which while this may relieve the pressure in getting the personal chores done, this leaves very little time for adequate down time / breaks / cognitive refresh. This situation could be described as a convenience, and if not effectively managed, this too can lead to people to feel pressured, stressed, fatigued, and ultimately burnt out.
So going back to the question, what does work life balance actually mean for YOU?
Ask yourself this – how many times have you worked for several hours without a break; or late into an evening? How many times have you juggled several tasks all at once, combining some personal chores into the mix? What happens when you notice that your cognitive function, or your keyboard or writing skills become a little sluggish? Perhaps you grab another quick coffee to give yourself a “boost”, however this boost is short lived, and that same old feeling quickly creeps back in. These are all signs that your body, and mind needs to rest, and that alternative more balanced stimulations should not be ignored.
Why not take a moment to think about you – regardless of what role you are employed to do, or what level of responsibility comes with your role, consider what works for you, and what doesn’t. It is of course important to consider that your work-life balance needs to be relevant to the business environment, however there is nothing wrong with looking at ways to re-jig things, both in your working and home life to suit the workings of your own mind, body and soul.
Try to create a balance that stimulates and meets your unique needs. Essentially, if you can find a combination that works best for you and the business, and one that gives you the maximum enjoyment out of life, it can generally be seen that you have achieved work-life balance.
What is important is getting that balance right – for YOU.
Please note: if as an employer you would like further information, advise and guidance on what work life balance means for your employees, and for your business, please do get in touch.
