Balancing Work and Life: Strategies for a Healthier Lifestyle
Work-life balance is one of the most debated topics of the current corporate ecosystem. What does it even mean, and why are we discussing it a lot? Well! Earlier, corporate employees used to work from their office location, which kept a clear line between their professional and personal lives. However, technology has enabled flexible work culture, which lets people work from home as well.
This system has made an undesired intrusion into people’s lives wherein they gradually lose their work efficiency and can’t enjoy their personal lives as well. Here, we will discuss this work-life discrepancy in detail, including how to get rid of it and maintain balance.
How Can You Define Work-Life Balance?
Work-life balance refers to the practice of keeping professional and personal life completely distinct. It means none of them should overlap with each other. Also, it includes the prioritization of the tasks intended to be accomplished in their specified time. If not, they start agitating things, leaving you distressed with a sense of guilt, thereby evoking mental health issues. Therefore, maintaining a good work-life balance is a crucial task and needs to be taken into consideration.
What Stirs Up The Work-Life Balance?
Corporates are now promoting flexible work that employees can undertake from their homes or other preferred locations. It also helps firms to save bundles on their operation cost. Amid the Covid-19 virus outbreak, this model gained more popularity among the corporates. All of them once allowed their employees to take work home during Covid-19. Furthermore, even after normalizing the outbreak, companies have adopted full-time WFH or hybrid mode of work. Employees too enjoy working flexibly from their preferred locations, getting a seamless work experience and saving their conveyance costs. Sounds good, right?
However, the new system has blurred the distinction between personal and professional. The two are intermingled badly in that your personal time is professional and vice-versa. The sense of liberty at home has made it difficult for corporate employees to accomplish the assigned work in a timely manner. This work is now extended to your personal time, wherein you are supposed to spend time with family, watch a series on Netflix, or learn a new skill.
At the same time, it also hampers your work efficiency, thereby promoting a sense of guilt and stress. Furthermore, the dis-composition in your work routine can also give a hard knock on your finances. All in all, maintaining a line between personal and professional becomes hard, which leaves employees perplexed and agitated. Intrusion of work in personal life is no new practice.
How To Maintain Work-Life Balance?
\Work-life balance is not a new thing but has been one of the most pressing issues for decades. People who are aware of its detrimental effects take it seriously and take proper measures to override the problems that may arise due to an imbalance in personal and professional activities. However, those who don’t consider it a real thing can become a victim of its severity. Fret not! We have covered some of the best practices that can help you manage your job and personal responsibilities like an adept. Below is how:
1: Understanding Is The Key
In the first place, you need to understand what work-life balance looks like. Also, admit that it is not possible to bring it to an absolute equilibrium. It’s just that you need to justify the important competencies at the workplace and at home. Therefore, you need to set realistic expectations and try to achieve them gradually with time. However, you need to keep assessing it regularly to ensure that you are on the right track.
2: Do What You Love
When you choose a work you love, overtime doesn’t affect you much. It doesn’t mean that you should give your personal time to your work until personal works are not compromised. Work satisfaction is one of the most important components of your job that keeps you going.
On the contrary, if you hate your job, it becomes difficult to even sustain yourself in that job. Besides, it also hampers your work efficiency and slightly affects your personal life as well. The slow rate pushes professional tasks into personal space. Above all, you remain engaged mentally, even when you are not working. Therefore, do yourself a favor and choose your work wisely.
3: Prioritize Your Health
Health is one of the most precious assets that let you enjoy your life. Speaking of, you need to maintain good physical, mental, and emotional health. When your mind and body are healthy, you will be able to live your life to the fullest. Also, you can give better output on the professional front as well.
If you are dealing with anxiety and depression, corporate wellness programs can be very helpful for you. Besides, if you are struggling with chronic physical ailments, take leave from work and get yourself treated. Overworking yourself will only make things worse. Besides, when your physical or mental health issues are not addressed properly, the prolonged struggle will affect your professional life and can burn a hole in your pocket as well.
4: Unplug and Take Vacations
When you feel stuck at work, it is fine to unplug yourself from professional life completely and leave for a vacation. This is an effective way to restore the balance in your personal and professional life. Unplugging yourself from the digital world and connecting yourself with nature recharges your body, mind, and soul. A two-week-long vacation is good to go.
Furthermore, you can engage yourself in recreational activities that are crucial to your quality of life. They not only bless you with a myriad of personal advantages but also help you strengthen the bond with your family. Besides, traveling gives a better perspective on life and fills it with gratitude.
5: Define Boundaries
Defining boundaries is inevitable when you seek better mental health at the workplace. Workplace toxicities can consume you to the core. Try to keep your mind free once you leave your office. Besides, try to engage yourself in activities that fill your heart with joy. If possible, keep a separate phone for work and turn it off to keep the office group and work-related messages at bay.
At the same time, you also need to avoid infusing fun activities with important work. When you fail to meet timelines, it will leave you guilty, and you won’t be able to enjoy your personal moments as well. So, this works both ways.
6: Engage In the Employee Wellness Program
Some employers undertake an employee wellness program intended to improve the health of their employees. It helps workers overcome their physical and mental issues. Besides, these programs strive to enhance productivity, boost employee morale, promote retention, and alleviate health risks.
Participating in such corporate wellness programs helps you get rid of the work pressure and enable you to perform well. When you are healthy and happy at work, you can streamline the core competencies of your personal life as well.
Final Takeaway!
By maintaining a proper work-life balance, you can excel in all walks of life. However, when the balance is disturbed, it can lead to many physical and mental concerns and prevent you from having quality time with your family. Reflect Within helps employees achieve optimal psychological and emotional well-being so that they can give their best at the workplace and live their lives to the fullest.
