In today’s world where both physical and mental health are paramount, having a proper work-life balance is essential. But how do you define work-life balance or rather, how can one achieve a proper balance between their personal and professional lives? Let’s dive in to know more about it!
Table of contents
1. Introduction
Work-life balance has always been a hot topic for ages, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with location not being as important as it used to be at work, the topic has become more engrossing than ever. In the past, if not impossible, it was quite difficult to work from home, which, on a fair note, made the balance between the personal and professional worlds a little easier. But, with working from home becoming accessible, employees tend to opt for it, which sometimes makes balancing work and life difficult. This is mostly because we tend to linger on our tasks as in the back of our minds, we know we are in the comfort of our home and can stretch our timings to complete a particular task. Once in a while, it can be fine, but if it becomes a regular habit, it may take a toll on your personal life.
According to a 2022 report published by Aviva, one of the UK’s leading workplace pension providers, approximately 41% of workers look for work-life balance post-pandemic than annual packages (with 31%). Back in 2019, work-life balance ranked 2nd with 40.91%, behind salary that ranked 1 with 41.02%. Although the difference between 2019 and 2022 isn’t much, it is still significant to see more and more workers preferring a balance between their personal and professional worlds.
2. What is a healthy work-life balance?
Simply put, work-life balance is the amount of time one spends doing their job versus the time they spend doing what’s important outside of work – it can be spending time with their loved ones, pursuing personal interests and hobbies, and so on. However, when work demands more attention and you have less time for your hobbies and other responsibilities, that’s when the disruption in balance occurs.
While researching in-depth about balancing work and life, we came across opinions where most people have described their idea of a balanced lifestyle as –
- Having a positive impact on the lives of their loved ones
- Being present in the moment
- Prioritising what is more important, what really matters in the future
- Making a bigger impact in life
- Letting go of trying to do and have it all
- Enforcing strong boundaries that are necessary for achieving work-life balance
3. Reasons why balancing work and life is important
The importance of work-life balance is a never-ending topic. But here are the top ten reasons that support the argument –
3.1 Improves overall well-being
Enhancing the balance between your professional and personal lives improves your overall health – physical, mental, and emotional. Many studies have found that working for longer hours (with or without breaks) leads to serious health issues like depression, diabetes, impaired sleep, obesity, fatigue, and so on. As a matter of fact, these conditions create burnout and other negative repercussions, affecting your professional life as well. Therefore, with proper work-life balance, you will experience less stress and anxiety, leading to rejuvenated health.
3.2 Enhances your focus and attentiveness
One of the biggest challenges people face without a proper balance in their work and life is their inability to stay focused and attentive. Wondering how? Here’s how it plays out –
- Your mind will feel heaving, often spinning and cluttered with a million scenarios and thoughts.
- You keep thinking about your deadlines and problems at work, when you are with your family and friends.
- Your mind keeps wandering to personal issues with your loved ones, or something as negligible as undone laundry while at work.
With work-life balance, your mind will feel more at rest, giving you the time to meditate and stay relaxed while allowing you to be in the present. Remember, balance is not just about the time you sit idle; it’s about how you feel.
3.3 Strengthen engagement at work
Engagement at work is one of the key components to feeling motivated and energetic. That said, engaged employees are more focused, happy, and committed to their work. That said, to ensure employee interactions, many employers have a notion that engagement is created through pressure or incentives. It may work for the short-term, but in the longer run, it is not a recipe for high morale or engagement. Also, for the most part, when you are exhausted due to overworking, engaging with your colleagues can become a tedious task.
Therefore, the key aspect is to make sure that you have a balance between your professional and personal life. Because the more balanced your work and life are, the more motivated and energised you feel. It helps create deeper bonds at work, driving more engagement across the organisation.
Some other reasons for balancing work and life are –
- It helps you think better and more creatively as your mind is refreshed and relaxed.
- Helps improve your productivity as you can focus more.
- It increases your happiness as well as enhances your relationships as you are less stressed.
4. Important tips to achieve work-life balance
Often you can wonder if there exist any proven methods to achieving work-life balance. While there are no methods that can eradicate stress or anxiety entirely or give a perfect balance to your professional and personal lives, there are a few tips that you can follow to make sure that you have a good work-life balance.
4.1 Take adequate time off
It is pivotal for you to take time off because it gives you time to not just relax but also catch up on hobbies that you love – whether travelling, painting, or swimming. Vacation time further releases and lowers your stress levels, which is highly beneficial for your productivity. How do you ask? You return with a more relaxed and focused mind along with a more positive outlook on your work.
4.2 Knowing techniques to manage stress
A very important tip for achieving work-life balance is knowing techniques to manage stress. Sometimes, even if you log in and out on time, thinking continuously about work or a particular project can lead to stress and anxiety. While taking adequate time off is a way out, it is not always feasible. Here’s when techniques like exercising regularly, practising Yoga and meditation, listening to relaxing music and podcasts, etc., come to the rescue. Not only do they help with your mental health but also improve your overall health, leading to an increase in your energy levels.
4.3 Short breaks throughout the day
The standard working time almost in every country across the world is 9 hours (some can be less or more). And you cannot expect employees to work these 9 hours without a break because it is highly impossible. It is said that an adult has a focus time of 45-60 minutes, after which, their brains will not be as productive as it was – which is why short breaks throughout the day are important, irrespective of whether you are working from the office or remotely. When your brain is working at a stretch, it requires fuel, and through breaks that fuel is fed. It helps you re-energise, re-adjust your focus, and work more efficiently.
4.4 Create boundaries between your work and personal space
If you are working from home, you need to create boundaries between your work and personal space. Avoid working in places that are meant for other activities, like your bedroom, kitchen/dining table, or living room couches. It is always a good idea to set up a space in your house that is dedicated to your work only. While working from home, maintain the same break schedules that you take when you are working from the office. This way, you can focus more and not overwork yourself.
4.5 Ask your employees what they are looking for
This point is for employers/team leads/managers. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of everything or maybe you aren’t sure what are the best ways to support your workforce. In such a case, the best strategy is to talk to your employees and ask them what they are looking for. You can ask them for suggestions on how the organisation can support them better in achieving work-life balance, if they have any grievances and concerns, and so on. If you notice a common/similar answer, consider adopting a new policy
5. How TJC Group helps achieve good work-life balance
Here’s what our HR Manager, Renuka Sharma, has to say on how TJC Group contributes to achieving a good work-life balance for its employees –
5.1 Team collaboration & team support to balance the workload
If any resource is away, then the immediately available resource takes the responsibility to take the task forward.
5.2 Encourage break from work and vacation
If any employee accumulates many leaves or there is too much workload, we advise our employees to take a break or go on a vacation and return with a fresh mindset.
5.3 Clear communication on expectations to meet the desired result
Every team lead has clear communication with their team members on task expectations and how to achieve them within the set time, like Sprint calls of the ELSA team or Weekly Calls of the Marketing team, etc. It helps team members plan their calendars accordingly without having to overwork themselves.
5.4 No work during weekends
At TJC Group, we don’t encourage our team members to work during their weekends. Weekends are to have fun and rejuvenate oneself; hence, we make sure that our teams are not working on weekends. That said, we also don’t encourage working beyond the hours. At times, if there is a need, team members do stretch beyond their hours. However, it is not a constant practice, and we highly recommend logging out on time to enjoy the rest of the evening.
One of the most important things for managers to keep in mind is that if they want their team members to have a good work-life balance, then managers must follow good balancing habits too. Because your team follow your leadership!
For more such interesting reads, keep following our blog page and stay tuned!
