Working 9 to 5 and nothing else is not a way to make a living. Maintaining a work-life balance is essential because at the end of the day both are significant events in your life that contribute to your happiness and wellbeing. Work can bring some manic moments and personal-life can undoubtedly throw you curve balls. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t make yourself miserable in the work-place to be successful because you will never truly be happy.

What is work-life balance?

The term has always been used to describe the time a person focuses between working and family or leisure activities. Many people misread this to be equal time, but it varies. Often on a daily basis, the time that worked for you today will probably be different by tomorrow. There is no one size fits all scenarios, only that we all have different prioritise which can affect your work-life balance.

Why do I need a work-life balance?

Achievement and Enjoyment are high values in life, and both are reached with career goals and personal life goals. The reason why its good to have a balance in both areas is so you can accomplish both.

Here are some reasons why it’s important to have work-life stability,

• The stress sometimes can get a bit too much to the point it lingers and then has a negative impact on your wellbeing.
• Besides having problems in your personal life, working too hard can be a problem within your job. With this, you may struggle to succeed at work because you are burning out and not producing your best work.
• While working hard is a good thing, and very much is promoted to reach your potential – This isn’t always the case. You could overwork yourself to the point of jeopardising your quality of work, which isn’t great for progression.

Should an employer promote a work-life balance?

Every company should encourage employees to have a work-life balance even if that’s promoting flexible work hours or offering social events after work hours. Employers are invested in your happiness and want to see you do well in the company because of it. They will strive for work morals because it can increase productivity.

If you feel like you are not receiving a good work-life balance from the company that you work for, then it is something you can discuss with your line manager. After all, if its the stress of work over taking your personal life then it is a cause for a problem for an employer and Manager.

How to achieve a better work-life balance?

The first steps to achieving balance are evaluating what demands are taking a toll in your professional and personal life. Eventually, you will establish what is needed to determine what you can change.

• Whether it’s setting a time to switch off from work entirely or ensuring you don’t look at emails after work, then this is a way to keep realistic boundaries between work and your personal life. After all, you can not work 24/7.
• Give yourself a break and enjoy life with social events or even relax at home. Whatever you do make sure you switch off from work mode.
• Its very easy to say yes to everything but overloading yourself with tasks can take its toll on your stress levels – Don’t feel like you can do everything. Alternatively, figure out what you have time for and look at your workload first. It’s OK to say no occasionally.

“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” – Dolly Parton

Creating your terms with work-life balance can be fundamental in gaining satisfaction. Make sure you not only achieve but also look back on the joys of the job. From the wise words of Dolly Parton “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” because life is too short.