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Why Work-Life Balance Is So Important—and How to Nail It

When the workday is over, it should really be over

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• What Do We Mean When We Say "Work-Life Balance"?

How Can I Tell If I Have a Healthy Work-Life Balance?

Can i request a healthier work-life balance (if so, how), how to improve your work-life balance.

Does it ever feel like your job is taking over your life? Or do you seem to have so many personal obligations that you can’t give 100% at work? We know we need work-life balance, but finding harmony between your professional and personal life isn't always as easy as it sounds. 

Work plays a major role in our lives. It takes up much of our waking hours during the traditional workweek. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that we are also taking care of the areas of our lives that keep us healthy and happy. 

Professional fulfillment can be a part of that, for sure. But well-being also involves all of the things outside of work that makes your life worthwhile, including your family, hobbies, health, and relationships (not to mention sleep, exercise, balanced meals, and relaxation).

At a Glance

Work-life balance generally refers to a balance between your personal and work life. The goal is to strive to keep that balance so that we are managing stress and burnout by fulfilling other areas of our lives that aren't swallowed up by work. Remember: That "balance" may shift at times and is never really a 50/50 split. We can accept that there may not ever be a balance, but we can strive to feel more grounded and balanced by making a personalized plan, exploring ways to improve that balance with our manager, taking breaks, and creating set boundaries between our personal vs. professional duties. If we're in a position to change jobs and our conversations with our manager are unsuccessful, we could also explore other opportunities that offer more flexibility.

What Do We Mean When We Say "Work-Life Balance"?

Work-life balance is usually defined as an equilibrium between your professional and personal life. When you keep things balanced, no single element of your life dominates and overwhelms the others.

"Work-life balance is the concept that you effectively manage your professional life and responsibilities so that you are productive and successful at work while ensuring you have plenty of dedicated time to live a fulfilling, grounded, personal life," says Abbey Sangmeister, MS.Ed, LPC, ACS .

That’s a general definition of the concept, but "work-life" balance can also mean different things to different people. Researchers suggest that this is because this balance is all about individual perception. It's something you feel when your work and non-work activities are in harmony and are compatible with your current goals and priorities.

The things that make your own work-life situation feel manageable may differ depending on your needs and your situation.

For working parents, it often means finding a way to juggle the responsibilities of a career while still finding time for a fulfilling family life. With rising numbers of older workers, work-life balance may focus more on staying active in the workforce while finding ways to manage health issues or disabilities.  

Major shifts in how we work have also helped change the definition of work-life balance for many people. For many people, work-life balance meant clocking out at 5 p.m. and not thinking about work until you showed up at the office at 9 a.m. the next day. 

Being tethered to an office is a thing of the past for many folks. It makes sense that, for many of us, the option for flexible or remote work is an essential part of work-life balance. This means that work-life balance is much more personal and nuanced these days–but it also makes finding a balance harder than ever before.  

Many times people think balance is a 50/50 split but that is not always the case. For each person, the balance may look different and will shift during different seasons of their life. The important part of having balance is that the person does not feel that one area of life is draining and depleting the other.

What Work-Life Balance Is Not

Work-life balance isn’t about slacking off, skipping work, or putting in less effort . Obviously, we all have our good and bad days, but there are ways to manage the days we’re feeling a little "off" that don’t involve hurting yourself professionally. 

Procrastinating or shirking your responsibilities aren’t effective ways to cope. You might feel a little better for a bit, but it ultimately creates more problems in the future. Work piles up, deadlines fly by, and your employer might start to notice that you’re not putting in your best effort.

The goal is to find a harmonious balance that works for you, between the demands on your time and energy, without neglecting important areas of your life.

You don’t want to ignore your personal life in favor of your job, but you also shouldn’t deal with stress by neglecting your workplace duties.

So how exactly can you tell if you have a healthy work-life balance? It can look a little different for everyone (since we all have different work, family, and relationship situations). 

"Lack of regular overwhelm and frustration are good signs that one does have good work-life balance. People who struggle with the Sunday scaries and dread or have a case of [the] Mondays more times than not are most likely struggling with an imbalance," Sangmeister suggests.

The following are a few signs that you’re striking a good balance between your job and other areas of your life:

• You don't feel like the demands of your work roles and personal obligations are constantly in conflict
• You're able to meet your deadlines at work without having to work overtime
• You're getting plenty of sleep at night and eating a healthy, balanced diet
• You don't spend the end of your weekend consumed by the " Sunday Scaries "
• You have plenty of time to relax and enjoy your hobbies
• You feel like you're spending enough time with family and friends
• You don't worry about your job when you're not at work
• You feel like you're being productive at work and making progress toward your professional goals, but you don't feel like your whole identity hinges on your job
• You're taking your vacation days (and using your sick days when you need them)
• You're taking advantage of any work-life benefits your employer offers, like gym memberships, flexible scheduling, and childcare vouchers

Remember that work-life balance isn't something you can just check off your to-do list. It’s only natural that the demands of your job and outside life shift and change over time. That means that what you need to keep the balance will change over time.

"With a good work-life balance, a person is less likely to be rigid with their schedule," Sangmeister says. "Instead, they are able to be flexible and can adapt to include demands that may come up professionally or personally without disrupting the feeling of balance."

To figure out if you have a good work-life balance, think about what's most important to you. What helps you to feel your best? Are you taking care of yourself personally and professionally? Are you managing your stress and watching for signs of burnout?

If you're struggling to find a balance between work and the rest of your life, it might be time to have a conversation with your supervisor. This includes work-life benefits like hybrid, flexible, or remote work. Flextime, alternative work schedules, child care options, and access to mental health services are important work-life benefits employers offer to attract employees. 

There are things that your employer can do to help foster a better work-life balance. It's something that benefits them as well. Research has shown that workers with better work-life balance are more satisfied with their jobs , perform better at work, and are more committed to their organizations.

A conversation with your employer might help you find ways to work together to make things more manageable. This might involve reprioritizing your tasks, delegating some work to others, hiring additional help, or allowing you to work remotely when needed.

Unfortunately, these aren't always options, depending on the nature of your profession or your role in the workplace. In many cases, making a change hinges on how you approach your job. It might mean changing your priorities, delegating tasks at home, or letting your colleagues know you can no longer respond to work-related problems during your downtime.

It's also important to be aware of your legal rights. If you need certain accommodations because you are pregnant or have a disability, these needs may be protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This includes protections if you are dealing with depression , anxiety , or another mental health condition. (You will need to have your condition diagnosed by your doctor, and you may need to provide documentation for your employer when you request an accommodation.)

How to Ask Your Boss for Better Work-Life Balance

Schedule a time to talk to your employer and tell them what you plan to discuss. During your meeting, explain your problem, and share your ideas for how you think you can work together to resolve the issue. 

If you've been overwhelmed by your workload and putting in too many hours, you might suggest redistributing some of your tasks to other team members to help lighten the load. 

Remember to stay professional and show respect for your employer's needs. Reiterate your commitment, and explain that you think finding a better balance will help you feel more productive and satisfied with your job.

So what’s next if you feel like your work-life balance is in shambles? It's time to take a step back, figure out what is wrong, and make a plan to fix it. Your health literally depends on it.

Many studies have demonstrated that people who have more conflict between their work and non-work life are more likely to experience health problems, mental health conditions, and poor overall health outcomes.

Make a Plan

Bringing more balance to your life starts with figuring out what’s causing the problem in the first place. Are your work hours too long? Or are work obligations encroaching on your off-time? Do you feel like you have no control over your schedule? Or are you taking on too many demands and need some relief?

Creating a personalized plan for how you are going to tackle your work-life balance can help you figure out what's wrong and which strategies will be most effective .

Create Divisions Between Your Work and Non-Work Life

Flexible and remote work can be a great way to promote balance in your life, but it often blurs the lines between your personal and professional life. You may find yourself working longer than normal hours, catching up on work when you should be relaxing, or staying up late to answer those last few emails you forgot to send earlier. 

The problem is that, over time, there is a distinct lack of balance. Because you never feel like you have any mental space from your job, it starts to feel like you’re always working. Your home life becomes your work life.

If you are fully or partially remote, there are things you can do to help promote better work-life balance:

• Create a schedule : Figure out which hours you can work during the day and stick with it. Creating a regular schedule can help you feel more productive. “ Start your mornings off with routines and rituals that are grounded. If you start your day sprinting the moment your alarm goes off, that energy carries through the day and leads to burnout,” Sangmeister says.
• Get ready for work : While you don't need to wear a suit and tie to work from your home office (unless you want to), consider wearing something other than your favorite 'lounging around the house' outfit. Dressing professionally when you are working can help create a mental division between your job and your home life.
• Let other people know when you're offline : Use different communication tools to let others know when you are offline. For example, put your work hours on your Google Calendar, set your Slack availability to prevent notifications during your off-time, and set up out-of-office emails when you are on vacation.
• Plan activities during your non-work hours : Give yourself things to look forward to once you are off work. It might involve getting together with friends, but it can be as simple as preparing a nice meal and settling in to stream an episode of a series you’re watching.

Take Breaks

Taking breaks is also essential. This includes mini-breaks during the work day and periodic days off or vacations.

"Taking an intentional day off periodically is a great way to improve work-life balance,” Sangmeister explains. "On these intentional days off, don’t just tackle a to-do list and chores; instead, work on personal development and mindfulness."

She also recommends mini-vacations and tech-free weekends . Even scheduling a little tech-free time each day can be helpful.

Don't Work When You're Not at Work

It might sound obvious (and simple), but it can be harder to stick with than you might expect. When your workday is over, it needs to be over. That means no checking work emails, looking at notifications, or logging in to finish "one last thing." 

Even if all you're doing is reading your messages that you plan to work on tomorrow, you're letting your work interfere with your personal time. It creates pressure and stress that distracts you from feeling fully relaxed or completely present during non-work hours. 

Set boundaries around the hours you work and create no work zones. That means even when you have “free time,” you aren’t going to open your phone or laptop to do work at certain times or in certain places.

Know What Burnout Looks Like

When your work-life balance is seriously screwed up (i.e., you're spending every waking moment working, thinking about work, stressing about work, or dreading work), there's a good chance you're headed for burnout .

Being burned out is more than just being tired and unmotivated—it means you've reached a state where you feel so exhausted and empty that you can hardly cope with daily life, let alone care about work.

Signs of burnout can be physical, such as headaches, high blood pressure, stomach aches, and frequent illness. But they are also mental and include problems sleeping, depressed moods, loss of interest, fatigue, problems concentrating, and apathy .

If you’ve reached this point, it means you need to make serious changes to your work environment. That might mean taking time off or switching to a different position. Sometimes, it might even mean thinking about changing jobs altogether.

Consider Changing Jobs

So you’ve had a conversation (or more than one) with your boss, but they are refusing to offer any flexibility to make any changes that will help you feel better about your relationship with your job–what now? 

If poor work-life balance is taking a toll on your well-being and isn't something you can solve on your own or by working with your employer, it might be time to consider taking a more serious step–changing your job altogether. 

Wait until you’ve had time to consider the problem and your options. Spend some time looking at other positions in your field (or even other fields if you’re ready to make a more significant change). Look at job review sites to see what other current and past employees are saying to learn more about what you might find in terms of work-life balance if you take a job with another company.

Finding a job you truly love can be a great way to feel more positively about the balance between your work and your outside life.

What This Means For You

Finding that perfect balance between your work and your life can seem like performing a tightrope act. If you're struggling, it might be worth talking to your boss about how they can help support your well-being (and foster greater job satisfaction and loyalty).  Remember: the goal is not to have a 50/50 balance—it's about finding a balance that feels good to you and, most importantly, works for you.

Taking steps to manage your time and boundaries is also essential. Make time for family, friends, hobbies, health, and self-care—the things that help you feel personally fulfilled outside of work. "Schedule, schedule, schedule," Sangmeister recommends. "Make these appointments just as important as any work meeting."

Gragnano A, Simbula S, Miglioretti M. Work-life balance: Weighing the importance of work-family and work-health balance . Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2020;17(3):907. doi:10.3390/ijerph17030907

Wong KP, Lee FCH, Teh PL, Chan AHS. The interplay of socioecological determinants of work-life balance, subjective wellbeing and employee wellbeing . Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2021;18(9):4525. doi:10.3390/ijerph18094525

Sirgy MJ, Lee D-J. Work-life balance: An integrative review . Appl Res Qual Life . 2018;13:229–254. doi: 10.1007/s11482-017-9509-8

Borowiec AA, Drygas W. Work-life balance and mental and physical health among Warsaw specialists, managers and entrepreneurs . Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2022;20(1):492. doi:10.3390/ijerph20010492

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Essay Service Examples Life Work-life Balance

Work-Life Balance Essay: Meaning, Importance And Causes

Table of contents

Introduction, meaning of work-life balance, importance of work-life balance, causes of work-life imbalance, work-life balance programs, personal development and care, practices towards work-life balance, components of work-life balance, self-management, time management, stress management, leisure management, technology management, change management, importance of work-life balance in human resource management, 1. employee engagement at work and quality of customer service, 2. impact on the profitability and growth, 3. rising cost of health care and medications, steps that i want to take in future to enhance my knowledge on this topic.

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• Time : Spending long hours at work due to 'inflexibility, changing work requirements, overtime or work duties at night' may lead to inconsistency with work and family duties. It has been shown that 'time spent at work was positively correlated with work interaction with family and work involvement, but it was not related to cross-domain satisfaction.'
• Gender differences : According to the distinct understanding of role identity, gender differences may contribute to a job-life imbalance. It has been shown that men prefer their work duties to provide financial support to their families over their social responsibilities, whereas women prioritize their family life.
• Scheduling their time: It is one of the main components that the employer should take care of. They can schedule their time by following these steps-
• Telecommuting: An employee can also work online at home with the help of innovative technology. It is one of the easiest ways for computer-based job employees.
• Compressed workweeks: Some companies also offer 10 hours a day, to give an extra day off as well as offer some amenities like onsite meal preparation and concierge services and so on, to make the home life a bit easier.
• Health and Wellness: We all know that Health and medical insurance is the most widely offered benefit in most of the companies. In most places, there are onsite gym or discounted gym premiums for the employees as well as some wellness programs like diet and fitness workshops.
• An employer should learn to say NO when you are assigned a task that does not fall under your job description and could be easily accomplished by the person who is asking it. It's important to say no at work because it earns you respect.
• An employer should work out to be de-stress because stress is one of the main problems that can create so many issues in life. We know that there is so much workload, which can put so much pressure on us. That’s why a person should give some time every day to do Yoga, Meditation or deep breathing, which will help in de-stressing and make you feel much better and fresh.
• An employer should also try to share the load with their co-workers. Each and every person in a company should share their feelings, workload or problems with others so that they can help you if you need it. In this way, you can also feel stress-free.
• Each and every person should have a positive approach always, which will help them to be positive and more punctual regarding their work as well as the company.
• A person should always focus on whatever they are doing. However, we should always put our best effort even if its not our core competence. We should maximize our productivity at work and make sure that the unfinished work should never come over in our personal time.
• Moreover, you can have a second phone with you because if you receive phone calls and emails from clients and colleagues on one phone, then you can use another phone for the family and friends. Whenever you leave work you can off the work phone and use another one. So, in this way you can balance your time with family and work.
• An employer should set SMART goals in their life which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.
• The last and important step to maintain work-life balance is to be organized always because we should manage our day properly instead of having the day to manage you.

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8 TED Talks About Work/Life Balance That'll Change the Way You Think

Updated: April 20, 2017

Published: February 05, 2016

Everyone and their mother seems to have a strong opinion about work-life balance .

Some argue that balancing career and lifestyle is necessary for your overall happiness. Others argue that the concept of "balancing" your work and your life, which implies that the two are on par with one another, is plain old wrong. Still others argue the whole thing is completely imaginary and unrealistic, and that we're making ourselves unhappy by pursuing it in the first place.

But a lot of what we read about it in popular culture barely scratches the surface. There's a ton of cool, crazy research and science out there that's uncovered meaningful insights about work-life balance -- from how it affects our individual happiness and success to how it should affect the way companies are run.

Curious what the smartest people out there have to say about work-life balance? Check out these eight TED talks that dig in to the more unconventional and uncommonly useful advice when it comes to balancing career and lifestyle.

1) "Off-Balance On Purpose: The Future of Engagement and Work-Life Balance" by Dan Thurmon

According to Dan Thurmon, work-life balance is a concept that's intriguing, and desirable ... and also completely unrealistic. We're told work-life balance is the ultimate goal, and we beat ourselves up in pursuit of it. Maybe if we work hard enough, or if we're smart enough, then we'll get to this moment where it all evens out. But he's here to tell you that perfect balance is something you never attain; in fact, the pursuit of balance will have a  negative  impact on your life.

In this TED talk, Thurmon liberates us with a new philosophy: Rather than living our lives on-balance, we should live them "off-balance, on purpose." Being off-balance is our reality, but it's a good thing because it allows us to learn, grow, love, serve others, and improve ourselves in meaningful ways.  The question is, are we off-balance in response to our world, or are we off-balance on purpose?

2) "How to Make Work-Life Balance Work" by Nigel Marsh

Author and marketer Nigel Marsh says work-life balance is too important to leave up to your employer.  " If you don't design your life,  someone else will design it for you, and you may just not like their idea of balance," he says. But being more balanced doesn't call for a dramatic overhaul of your life -- it just  means investing in small ways in the right places. Do that, and you can radically transform the quality of your relationships and the quality of your life. You'll also learn what he thinks an "ideal day" looks like -- one balanced between family time, personal time, and productivity.

3) "Work-Life Balance: Balancing Time or Balancing Identity?" by Michelle Ryan

Some argue that many women choose not to go into particular jobs because of the long hours required and the sacrifices that need to be made -- thereby making women seem less ambitious and more attracted to the idea of work-life balance than men. But is there really something innate about a desire for work-life balance that women have, or is there something more complex going on here? In her TED talk, Michelle Ryan teaches us about the complexities involved in these decisions and presents cutting-edge research into ambition and work-life balance across the gender divide.

4) "Why Work Doesn't Happen at Work" by Jason Fried

Jason Fried has been asking people this question for over ten years now: "Where do you go when you really need to get something done?" What he's found is that the answer is very rarely the office. Instead, people say things like "the porch," "the kitchen," "a coffee shop," or even a time of day, like early morning or late at night. And yet, businesses spend a wild amount of money on their office, and they're making their employers go to it during a specific period of time. In this TED talk, you'll learn what the two main offenders are -- and what Fried suggests for making the office actually work.

5) "The Power of Time Off" by Stefan Stagmeister

Every seven years, Stefan Sagmeister shuts down his New York studio Sagmeister & Walsh (which designed the album cover for The Rolling Stones' "Bridges to Babylon," among many other famous projects), and gives his employees an entire year-long sabbatical. Why? Not just because it's enjoyable -- although that's certainly true. The main reason, though, is so he and his team can refresh their creative outlook so their work wouldn't get stale or look the same. In this TED talk, he tells us the origin of this idea, explains the oft-overlooked value of time off, and shows the innovative projects inspired by his time in Bali.

6) "The Happy Secret to Better Work" by Shawn Anchor

Shawn Anchor researches happiness for a living -- and he's found some really, really interesting stuff. Right now, most people believe we need to work hard in order to be happy. But Anchor's found that this is backwards. Our long-term happiness isn't predicted by the external world, but by the way our brains process the world -- and if we can change our outlook, then we can not only change our happiness, but we can actually change how successful we are at work, at school, and in other parts of our lives. In this TED talk, you'll learn how happiness inspires us to be more productive -- in a talk that's riddled with funny stories and one-liners.

7) "How to Succeed? Get More Sleep" by Arianna Huffington

According to Arianna Huffington, the single most important thing leaders can do is get enough sleep. To most, this advice is counterintuitive: After all, our society expects leaders to slave away at all hours and work themselves to the bone. But studies have shown that getting enough sleep can have tremendously positive affects on our creativity, ingenuity, confidence, leadership, and decision-making skills. In this TED talk, Huffington teaches us why hard work and long hours, while having a place in business success, should not and cannot be the norm. Instead, we can be more successful at our jobs and happier with our lives through this one, small change.

8) "The Puzzle of Motivation" by Dan Pink

Here's a TED talk that's loosely related to work-life balance, more from the managers-to-employees perspective. Most managers' general line of thinking is this: If we want people to perform better, we reward them -- with bonuses, vacations, commissions, and so on. But in this TED talk, Dan Pink tells us what most social scientists know and most managers don't: Traditional rewards at work aren't always as effective as we think. The incentives managers think will sharpen employees' thinking and accelerate their creativity actually does the opposite: dulls thinking, and blocks creativity. And yet, so many businesses build their operating systems entirely around those extrinsic motivators.

Using colorful stories and detailed examples, Pink illustrates why traditional motivators don't work and actually do harm, forcing people to work insane hours and generally be unhappy at work. Learn instead how businesses can properly motivate their employees and apply our human resources.

What are your favorite TED talks about work-life balance? Share with us in the comments.

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Work-Life Balance Is a Cycle, Not an Achievement

• Mayra Ruiz-Castro

A five-step approach to identify and overcome unhealthy work habits.

Research has definitively shown that overwork isn’t good for employees or their companies — and yet, in practice, it can be hard to overcome unhealthy work habits and reach a more sustainable work-life balance. To explore what it takes for busy professionals to make a change for the better, the authors conducted a series of interviews with mid- and senior-level managers at two global firms. They found that while the majority of respondents assumed working long hours was inevitable, a significant minority of them were able to resist this pressure and achieve a healthier balance through a process of increasing awareness, conscious reprioritizing, and implementation of public and private changes. The authors go on to emphasize that to achieve lasting change, you must view this process not as a one-time activity, but as a cycle in which you constantly re-evaluate your evolving feelings and priorities, and adjust your work and life choices accordingly.

Despite the resounding evidence that working long hours can be harmful to both employees and employers, many professionals still struggle to overcome their assumptions — and their deeply-ingrained habits — around work hours. What does it take to free yourself from these unhealthy patterns and reach a more sustainable, rewarding work-life balance?

• IL Ioana Lupu is an Associate Professor at ESSEC Business School France. She is interested in overwork, work-compulsion & performance measurement in knowledge-intensive settings, such as audit, consulting, and law firms. Follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter @lupu_io.
• MR Mayra Ruiz-Castro is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Roehampton, UK. Her research focuses on equality at work and at home. Follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter at @MayraRuizCastr1.

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Spirituality

Why work-life balance is a myth, try the seven slice approach.

Posted March 4, 2022 | Reviewed by Hara Estroff Marano

• Complaining about lack of work-life balance is common.
• Framing the issue as lack of balance creates an unwinnable zero-sum situation.
• Framing life as multiple slices you can combine and rearrange has greater value.

The conventional way of thinking about work-life balance in binary terms presents a zero-sum game. Increasing time to spend with family means less time for managing one’s career . But if you don’t take care of your career, you will not be able to provide for your family. It is a circular way of framing the problem.

David J. McNeff takes a different approach, In his book, The Work-Life Balance Myth . (2021), he contends there is no such thing as work-life balance. McNeff’s alternative is called the seven-slice approach. Instead of viewing the problem as work OR family, McNeff describes seven domains where people spend their time: family, professional, personal, physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual . People need all seven.

The Spiritual Slice may mean time spent in organized religion or time spent thinking about the meaning of life. The Emotional Slice refers to time spent with friends and not family or work associates. The Intellectual Slice refers to time spent learning something new.

Try This Exercise:

Allocate your time in terms of the average percentage of time you spend on the seven activities during your waking hours. For example, a client given the name Gwen came up with this profile:

Family Slice: 15 percent.

Professional Slice: 75 percent.

Personal Slice: 5 percent

Physical Slice: 0 percent

Intellectual Slice: 3 percent

Emotional Slice: 1 percent

Spiritual Slice: 1 percent

What would your allocation look like?

Gwen’s first insight was the realization that she had been living her life as though it consisted only of her family and professional slices. There were areas of her life that she has been neglecting. This neglect was creating stress in her life. How can she spend more time in her underserved slices?

Work-life balance is a binary way of framing the problem. You can only add time to one side of the balance by taking time away from the other side.

But if you frame the problem from an ordinal perspective, on the other hand,it's no longer an either/or situation. You are looking at shifting positions and combining categories. Ordinal thinking refers to conceptualizing something within a list of things that can be shifted or combined.

Gwen’s Solution

Thinking in an ordinal fashion, Gwen began playing tennis every Saturday morning with a friend. This allowed her to increase both her physical slice and her personal slice at the same time.

During her 40-minute drive to work in the morning, Gwen would turn off the mobile phone and began her day listening to books on tape. This allowed her to add to her intellectual slice without reducing time from her professional slice.

Below is another example of removing the zero-sum framework of work-life balance by transforming the framework of managing life as an ordinal issue where activities can be combined:

One of our clients was Managing Partner of a law firm. The family attended church on Sundays. The daughter also attended religious education at the church. The managing partner examined the church committees and saw that the Religious Education Committee contained two bank CEOs. He joined that committee. Eventually one of the banks became a law firm client, thanks to the relationships made on the committee. While this activity supported his professional slice it also assisted his family slice.

Summary and Conclusions:

Defining a life problem as work-life balance frames the issue as zero-sum. Adding time to one side of the ledger requires reducing time on the other. Framing the issue as a seven-slice ordinal problem allows for creative slicing and dicing between and within categories.

McNeff’s book does not include sleep as a critical Slice. Sleep deprivation, however, is a common business issue seldom discussed openly. People like to brag about how little sleep they need, but deprivation is associated with poor decision-making . (Stybel Peabody, 2019).

Whether you think your life contains seven or eight slices, framing the issue in this manner is more helpful than talking about your lack of work-life balance.

D.J. McNeff. The Work-Life Balance Myth: rethinking your optimal balance for success. New York: McGraw Hill, February 2021tps:// www.psychologytoday .

L. Stybel & M. Peabody. “How Sleep Can Help Your Team Make Better Decisions.” Psychologytoday.com, February 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/platform-success/201902/how-sle…

Dr. Laurence J. Stybel and Maryanne Peabody are co-founders of the Boston-based B:B firm, Stybel Peabody Associates, Inc. They provide corporations with retained search for Board members, CEOs, COOs, and CFOs; 1:1 leadership coaching; and executive outplacement.

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5 TED Talks To Balance Work and Personal Life

No matter what you call the perpetual challenge of work-life balance (having it all, work-life integration, you often have to sacrifice something to make it all work. if you need inspiration, motivation, or a new way of thinking, these five ted talks cover it all..

No matter what you call the perpetual challenge of work-life balance (having it all, work-life integration, save-me-now-please), you often have to sacrifice something to make it all work. Much of the time, making it work comes down to your priorities and productivity. If you need inspiration, motivation, or a new way of thinking, these five TED Talks cover it all. Watch, learn, and leave feeling like a master of your time.

1. “Work-Life Balance: Balancing Time or Balancing Identity?” by Michelle Ryan

Have you ever wondered why work-life balance is always geared toward women instead of men? Ryan, a Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology, has researched this topic extensively to uncover if women really do just have an innate sense to seek out work-life balance, or if there is something more complex going on. Be prepared for another look into the differences between men and women when it comes to work and ambition.

2. “How to Make Work-Life Balance Work” by Nigel Marsh

As an author and marketer (he’s the man behind Fit, Fifty and Fired-Up and Fat, Forty and Fired ), Marsh believes that it’s up to you to balance your own life, not your employer. “ If you don’t design your life,  someone else will design it for you, and you may just not like their idea of balance,” he says. But the important thing he stresses is that you only need to take small steps to see a big change.

3. “The Happy Secret to Better” by Shawn Achor

This TED Talk has nearly 10 million views, so it’s clear Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage , is on to something with his happiness theories. In our culture, happiness is equated with success. Success leads to happiness, right? Anchor says wrong. Instead, he says it’s all about your outlook on happiness and success, so be prepared to end this talk with a more positive one than when you started.

4. “Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work” by Jason Fried

This biggest question that Fried, co-founder of Basecamp , poses is: Why does it seem like the best place to get work done isn’t actually in the office? When you ask people where they go to be productive, responses are typically a coffee shop, kitchen table, or even a front porch—it’s never their desk as work. So why is this the case? Watch the video to hear Fried’s two main perpetrators.

5. “Can We ‘Have it All’?” by Anne-Marie Slaughter

Back in 2012, Slaughter, a public policy expert, came out with a controversial theory that women can’t have it all—not because of ability, but because of gender bias that still exists. In her TED Talk two years later on the same topic, Slaughter discussed how changes in work culture and social norms could lead toward equality for all, but both women and men have to be committed. Get ready to be challenged and informed at the same time.

Want more? Try these strategies to manage an “always” on workplace , and check out these 10 strategies to achieve work / life balance .

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84 Work-Life Balance Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best work-life balance topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 simple & easy work-life balance essay titles, 💡 good research topics about work-life balance, ❓ research questions on work-life balance.

• Work Life Balance Essay These non-monetary benefits include the number of hours that a person is expected to commit to the job and other benefits given by the employer to the employee.
• Flexible Work Schedule and Work-Life Balance The human resource practices in some local and multinational companies are addressed and it is sought if a set of policies related to work-life balance in a multinational corporation can be applicable to a subsidiary […]
• Work-Life Balance and Its Influences on Employee Development and Career Management Coussey is of the opinion that work-life balance entails developing working practices that are beneficial to both the organization and the employees. Integration of work-life balance as a human resource management strategy is beneficial to […]
• Benefits of Work-Life Balance Managers can help their workforce to attain a work and life balance by: implementing flexible working schedules and work arrangements that meet the needs of employees, being respectful and thoughtful of employee personal responsibilities, creating […]
• The Notion of the Work-Life Balance The revelations led to a change in the organizational outlook of work and personal life and work-life balance issues begun to receive significant attention by employers during the 1980s.
• Evaluation of YouTube Trends: Impact of Work-Life Balance It is possible to damage their reputation at work if they let their personal life have too much of an effect on how they behave on the job.
• Improving Work-Life Balance During Distant Work The review of literature concerning the improvement of employees’ work-life balance revealed that three aspects might affect the WLB of the employees.
• Impact of Work-Life Balance on Emloyee’s Life The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act is a policy that intends to create work-life balance by securing employees 12 weeks of paid leave to care for their families when the need arises.
• Impact of Cloud Technologies on Work-Life Balance in Washington D.C. In a 2013 article in the Guardian, a business director said the following when discussing the introduction of cloud technologies, “the age of work/life balance is over, it’s now about blend”. Washington D.C.firms and federal […]
• Studying and Working Balance The fact that a person has decided to go back to school does not make the day any longer; what will be important is to “create time” this means that the individual prioritizes the activities […]
• The Importance of Work-Life Balance Labor Unions: definitions and scope Business units’ efforts contributed to maintain work-life balance Government’s way of enhancing work-life balance Indeed, there are a number of efforts from all sides: the unions, the business sector and […]
• Work-Life Balance: A Comparison of Policies in the UK and Australia It tries to understand the basic issues in those countries that contribute to work-life conflict and compares the policies pursued by the two countries in tackling the problems in balancing work and life.
• Work-Life Balance Development in the UK Retail Stores But, at the same time, the eternal desire to work and the necessity to do it in order to satisfy one’s personal needs and the needs of people that a certain person is responsible for, […]
• Cost Center Employees’ Work-Life Balance The situation is attributable to the ineffectiveness of the previous supervisor. The rationale for the suggestion is that the leader will ensure every person’s needs are met.
• Work-Life Balance and Professional Development The assessment revealed that the factors that contributed to my work-life imbalanced come from different spheres of life such as family and personal relationships, social life, workplace communication and dynamics, personal habits, and the structure […]
• Roads and Transport Authority Work-Life Balance For employee pay, it is critical to follow legislation, organizational policies, and the work contract. To improve the organizational culture and environment, companies follow discrimination legislation that focuses on religion and race/ethnicity.
• Self-Care Techniques in Work-Life Balance That is why it is important to focus on self-care techniques in order to maintain the balance between the professional and personal life, prevent the negative results of ongoing stresses and challenges, and be effective […]
• The Work-And-Life Balance in the U.S. Companies From this point, it is necessary to discuss the approaches followed in the U.S.companies in order to guarantee the work-and-life balance for their employees in terms of proposing policies on the maternity leave and care […]
• Employee Work-Life Balance The study recommended the improvement of satisfaction of employees in the SME sector in the effort to increase their retention. The existence of scholarly evidence on the value of WLB in enhancing job satisfaction and […]
• Work-Life Balance: Retaining the Most Skilled Professionals The ability of a person to maintain the healthy work-life balance is critical for his performance and commitment to the goals set by leaders.
• Work-Life Balance in Saudi Arabia Many employees relate work with life’s fulfillment, and connect their satisfaction at work with their feelings and satisfaction in life, and happiness with their family.
• The Problem of Work-Family Imbalance in Society The absence of the mother in the family probably contributes to the work-family imbalance problem that Chris is facing in raising his son.
• Can Responsible Leadership Affect Work-Life Balance or Imbalance?
• Better Work-Life Balance Survey in NCC Bank Limited
• The Ideology and Politics of Work and Family Policy in Australia
• Can Employee’s Work-Life Balance Contribute to Business Sustainability
• Corporate Work-Life Balance Systems in the Opinion of Generation Z
• Creating Work-Life Balance Internal Culture and Performing Social Responsibility
• Life Course Savings Scheme Potential to Improve Work-Life Balance
• Does Work-Life Balance Affect Pro-Environmental Behaviour?
• Work-Life Balance Practices Affect Organizational Output
• Emotional Intelligence and Work-Life Balance in the IT Sector
• The Relations Between Employer Flexibility and Employee Work-Life Balance
• Correlation of Employment and Appropriate Work-Life Balance
• The Work Life Balance: An Integral Part of The Human Resource Department
• The Relationships Between Ethical Issues and Work-Life Balance
• Work-Life Balance Programs in Organizations
• Key Factors Determining Work-Life Balance
• Guilt, Gender, and Work-Life Balance in Japan
• Work-Life Balance Policies for Employees and Employers
• How Organizational Bureaucratization Affects Work-Life Balance
• The Work-Life Balance Is a Key to Being the Best
• The Relations Between Human Resource Management and Employees’ Work-Life Balance
• The Mediation Effect of Job Satisfaction and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance
• Institutional Pressures and Internal Motivations of Work-Life Balance Organisational Arrangements
• Making the Link Between Work-Life Balance Practices and Organizational Performance
• Measuring Work-Life Balance Using Time Diary Data
• Managing Work-Life Balance in Contemporary Workplaces
• Need for Work-Life Balance Educational Programs
• Occupational Stress and Work-Life Balance in the Public Sector in Saudi Arabia
• The Realities of Work-Life Balance in a Low-Income Neighbourhood
• Psychological Contract: Work-Life Balance in Retail
• Refine Your Work-Life Balance by Setting Healthy Boundaries
• Work-Life Balance: The Links With Management Practices and Productivity
• State, Market and Work-Life Balance: Canadian Employment and Labour Policies
• Stress Level Among Nurses in ER Department and Their Work-Life Balance
• Talent Management, Work-Life Balance and Retention Strategies
• Temporary Employment and Work-Life Balance in Australia
• The Link Between Work-Life Balance and Income Equality
• Why Has Work-Life Balance Become a Key Issue in HRM?
• The Work-Life Balance in Nestle International Management
• Work-Life Balance: The Relationship Between Stress and Health
• What Can Be the Balance Between Work and Personal Life?
• What Is the Ideology and Policy of Work and Family Policy in Australia?
• What Is the Accenture Work-Life Balance Programs?
• Can Employee’s Work-Life Balance Contribute to Business Sustainability?
• Does the Practice of Work-Life Balance Affect Organizational Results and Capital Review?
• How Can Emotional Intelligence and Work-Life Balance Be Related?
• What Can Corporate Systems of Work-Life Balance Look Like in the Eyes of Generation Z?
• What Could Be the Potential of the Savings Schemes to Improve Work-Life Balance?
• What Is the Relationship Between Employment and a Proper Work-Life Balance?
• What Do Emotional Intelligence and Work-Life Balance in the It Sector Have in Common?
• What Is the Relationship Between Employer Flexibility and Employee Work-Life Balance?
• What Are the Work-Life Balance Programs in Organizations?
• What Is the Work-Life Balance Policy for Employees and Employers?
• How Does Organizational Bureaucratization Affect Work-Life Balance in the World?
• What Is the Relationship Between Gender Balance and Work-Life Balance?
• How Is the Work-Life Balance a Key to Being the Best?
• What Are the Established Links Between Balance Practice and Personal Life?
• What Is the Need for Work-Life Balance Education Programs?
• What Is the Relationship Between Flexible Working Hours, Work-Life Balance, and Job Satisfaction?
• Why Work-Life Balance Doesn’t Work?
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More From Forbes

The ceo's statement on work-life balance.

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Liz, I want to tell my staff members how I feel about work-life balance.

- How do you feel about it, Chuck?

I think it's important. It's important for my staff members, and it's important for me.

- Do you struggle to make time to do the things you want to do?

Heck yes! That's my biggest problem. Now that the business is really going, I'm not worried about household income anymore. My kids are finished with college. I work all the time, though. My wife Mary really complains about it.

- Why? You have excellent leaders on your team. Why can't you turn out the light in your office and go home?

Partly  because there's so much going on all the time -- those talented VPs you mention all want time to talk with me, all the time - and partly because I'm a workaholic, I guess.

- That's a good observation to make. Your work grows your flame, for sure.

- You can imagine how Mary would feel to see you working all the time and to know you love your work....

You mean it might seem like I put my work ahead of her.

- Anyone could easily get that impression.

She says that sometimes.

- Do you plan vacations ahead of time? Do you know when you'll be able to take time off this year?

Kind of. We have a family wedding in July.

- That doesn't count. I mean total relaxation time. You're the CEO. If you don't know how to relax, who else in your company will?

I'm not that great at relaxing.

- It's a good muscle to grow. You could practice. What if you took off one morning a week, and walked the dog?

My doctor says the same thing.

- So that's your doctor, me and Mary all singing the same song. You're saying that you want your staff to know that their personal lives are important. Why not lead by example? The work will always  be there when you get back.

I hate to let people down.

- One could make the argument that you're letting them down now. If you get sick, you'll really let them down.

You make a good point. Back to my team - should I make a statement about work-life balance?

- Did someone ask you to?

It comes up at our Town Hall meetings. They ask me "How do you feel about work-life balance?"

- How do you answer that question?

I say that their lives outside of work are important. I tell them I want them to go home when their work is done.

- But their work is never done. This is the knowledge economy. The work just keeps coming. There's always more to do.

So then how does a person know when to go home?

- When they're tired. When they're depleted, physically and mentally. When did our ancestors go home from the fields? They went home when they were spent.

Or when the sun went down.

- A couple hundred years ago people started working when it was still dark. Every farmer does. Every baker does. The sun is only part of it.

I want to put something in our new employee orientation materials that tells people to take care of their health and their families.

- That's a great idea. What else do you want to say?

Can you help me compose the message?

Here's what Chuck sent to his teammates and published in the company's handbook and its new-employee welcome materials:

Dear Acme Teammates, Our company is growing fast, and it's because of the amazing people who work on our team. Our customers tell us that the number one reason they choose our products over our competitor's products is our service level. I want to thank you for taking such good care of our customers and one another. You can't do a great job every day unless you are rested and healthy. We work hard here at Acme Explosives, and when the workday is done we put our work aside. We don't schedule evening or weekend meetings unless there's an emergency. Our managers don't call or text team members after business hours unless there's a crisis. When that happens, we work hard to prevent it from happening again. Your highest priorities are your health and your home life. We are happy to be your third priority after your health and the people who rely on you. We don't promote or recognize people at Acme because they worked harder than anyone else. Our goal is to make everyone's work smarter, easier and more human, not harder. If you and your supervisor have trouble working out a work-life conflict, please talk with Mary Sue Evans in HR. For me, the most important thing in the relationship between Acme Explosives and our team members is the understanding that business is only a means to an end. It isn't an end in itself. The healthier you and all of our teammates are, the stronger our business will be. I want to hear your ideas about how to make Acme Explosives the best place to work and the world's best supplier of stick dynamite to the coyote market. Thanks for being part of our success and for bringing your great ideas, passion and energy to work every day! I realize that it's easier for me to tell you what I think about work-life balance than to demonstrate it, but life is all about learning! Starting this week, I'm going to leave the office by 5:30 every day, and I hope you will do the same. To prove that I'm serious, here's my commitment: if you see me here after 5:30, you win a $250 gift card. I like to give out bonuses when we hit our goals. I don't want to pay people for catching me at the office after hours. If you know of problems that are keeping us from getting our work done during the day, please let me or another manager know! Here's to making 2015 our most successful and healthiest year yet. Yours, Chuck Jones

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SLPS, do you have a good work-life balance?

Can anyone tell me about their experiences about this? I heard that SLPS get burnt out in this field. Others say that it is okay especially if you work in schools because you can get the weekends, holidays, and summers off and spend time with friends or family. I also heard stories where some SLPs do some part-time work/per-diem on their holidays off as well.

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भारत में वर्क लाइफ बैलेंस बनाना महिलाओं के लिए बड़ी चुनौती! सर्वे में आए चौंकाने वाले नतीजे

Work life balance for women: ऑफिस, घर और बच्चों के बीच बैलेंस बनाए रखना महिलाओं के लिए सबसे मुश्किल काम है। कई बार घर और ऑफिस के बीच ऑप्शन चुनने के लिए महिलाएं घर को ज्यादा तवज्जो देती हैं और नौकरी छोड़ देती है.

Work Life Balance for Women : ऑफिस, घर और बच्चों के बीच बैलेंस बनाए रखना महिलाओं के लिए सबसे मुश्किल काम है। कई बार घर और ऑफिस के बीच ऑप्शन चुनने के लिए महिलाएं घर को ज्यादा तवज्जो देती हैं और नौकरी छोड़ देती है। नौकरी डॉट कॉम के एक सर्वे से पता चला है कि महिलाएं अक्सर काम और जीवन के बीच संतुलन की कमी, फ्लेक्सिबल काम के विकल्प न होने और पारिवारिक जिम्मेदारियों के कारण नौकरी छोड़ देती हैं। सर्वे में 39 प्रतिशत महिलाओं ने कहा कि उनके लिए काम और जीवन के बीच संतुलन बनाना मुश्किल हो गया, इसलिए उन्होंने नौकरी छोड़ दी।

काम और घर के बीच बैलेंस बनाना हो जाता है मुश्किल

सर्वे के अनुसार, जो महिलाएं फिर से काम पर लौटना चाहती हैं, उनके लिए भी फ्लेक्सिबल काम के विकल्प और पारिवारिक जिम्मेदारियां बड़ी चुनौतियां हैं। 41 प्रतिशत महिलाओं ने कहा कि उन्हें फ्लेक्सिबल काम के विकल्प नहीं मिलते, और 35 प्रतिशत ने पारिवारिक जिम्मेदारियों को अपनी नौकरी जारी न रख पाने का कारण बताया।

कामकाजी महिलाओं को नहीं मिलता बराबरी का मौका

सर्वे में यह भी पाया गया कि 73 प्रतिशत महिलाओं और 79 प्रतिशत पुरुषों का मानना है कि काम की जगह पर पुरुषों और महिलाओं को बराबरी का मौका मिलता है। हालांकि, 24 प्रतिशत महिलाओं का मानना था कि पुरुषों की तरक्की के मौके ज्यादा होते हैं, जबकि केवल आठ प्रतिशत पुरुषों ने ऐसा माना। दूसरी ओर, 13 प्रतिशत पुरुषों ने कहा कि महिलाओं को बेहतर मौके मिलते हैं, लेकिन केवल तीन प्रतिशत महिलाएं इससे सहमत थीं। इस सर्वे से पता चलता है कि कामकाजी महिलाओं को बराबरी का मौका देने के लिए और सुधार की जरूरत है।

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First Published: Aug 24, 2024 7:34 PM

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