What is Work life Balance and Why is it Important?
“We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘To-Do’ List’ ~Micheal Obama “
Every working person has at least once in their lives walked into their homes with leaned-down shoulders and heavy minds waiting to pass out due to stress. Having these moments are natural and the reason for this is the lack of work life balance.
Moreover, in this world of hustle and constant fears that cause anxiety, everyone focuses on wealth and work, we are prone to think that if we do work- we earn and if we earn- we lead a pleasurable life. But this is not entirely true. One should not get too busy making a living that they forget to live….
Work-life balance involves the minimization of work-related stress and establishing a sturdy and sustainable method to work while maintaining health and general well-being.
What Happens When Work-life Balance is not Maintained in a Workspace?
Two typical issues faced in workplaces due to lack of work-life balance are:-
Chronic stress
Have you been stressed for more than 2 weeks? Or have you been anxious and tired most of the time? Then you are probably suffering from chronic stress. It is a prolonged and constant feeling of stress that can negatively affect your health if it goes untreated.
It can be caused by the everyday pressures of family and work or by traumatic situations and also when employees are continuously feeling stressed.
Chronic stress affects both the mind and body. It delivers both physical and psychological symptoms that can harm a person’s ability to perform normally in their daily life. Which in turn paves the way for other concerns such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia, as well as physical health issues including chronic aches and pains, heart troubles, and hypertension.
Burnout
Have you ever felt too overwhelmed, emotionally drained, or hit a slump (being unable to meet constant demands)? Burnout is natural to occur when there is a lack of work-life balance. It is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress that can lead to anything between mood swings and fatigue resulting in a decree in productivity.
77% of working full-time Americans have experienced burnout, according to a work-life balance survey.
Burnout severely reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give. It can also cause the employees to seek health care or take days, which in turn can become costly for a company.
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Advantages of Having a Healthy Work-life Balance for an Employee
- Productivity is increased when work-life balance is present.
- Due to work life balance, there are fewer instances of sickness and absenteeism.
- A happier, less stressed workforce filled with positive and motivated energy.
- Staff feel valued and that their personal and/or family life is important.
- When life and work is the balanced staff becomes more engaged.
- Greater employee loyalty, commitment, and motivation.
‘Don’t get too busy making a living that you forget to live’
~Dolly Parton
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Advantages of Work Life Balance for a Company
- When there is work life balance staff is happier and hence there is a better staff retention
- Due to work-life balance employees have their minds at ease, they perform at their full potential resulting in increased productivity.
- There is a high chance of the company/ business having more profitability.
- As the staff is stress-free and fresh, they always tend to engage more giving a Higher employee engagement.
- Work-life balance has another advantage, it creates a strong brand reputation.
- Having a work-life balance in a workplace does an impeccable job in Increasing the morale of the employees and motivating them to work too.
- Due to work-life balance employees will be less stressed out and more calmed from the inside leading to fewer sick leaves leaving less absenteeism of staff.
Ways that can be Implemented to Maintain a Work-life Balance
Work-life balance filters out a person’s negative thoughts and opens up the way for a positive and pumper aura. The person feels stress-free and rejuvenated! Moreover, the covid wave has changed the perspective of not only the employees but also employers.
In this well perspective world employees are not just looking for salaries to pay up bills, but are intrigued by schemes like flexible work hours and engage more when have unburdened shoulders. Therefore, for this very reason, nowadays more and more companies and businesses are trying their best to accommodate benefits and honors to attract more employees.
Hence, in today’s world employees are not just looking for a way to earn but truly care about their work environment and want to have a healthy, productive and stress-free workplace. This work-life balance can be easily achieved by implying the following ways.
Flexible working hours
Supplying your employees with flexible working hours could be a real game-changer. This provides the workers to be more productive by working when they are most pumped and taking a rest when they need to repower. Flexible working has become a necessity rather than a privilege.
With the growth in technology, providing flexible work hours has become easier and more reliable. It also has several advantages such as reduction of sick leaves resulting in a decrease in staff turnover
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Encourage holidays
To balance work-life, holidays are essential to personal satisfaction, relaxation, physical and mental health. When an employee has worked day and night to its full potential, a day or two off work just for self-relaxation and calmness away from the hustles of the office provides the worker with a chance to reset, reflect and recharge. Studies have shown that workers are more productive after going on holiday.
Boost Health Incentives
Prioritizing health is a vital part of securing a good work-life balance. Long work hours combined with lengthy commutes can force employees to sacrifice health and fitness. Physical health is one of the major aspects of an employee’s personal life that can impact their working life too. Overburdening leads to stress, which can augment the risk of a variety of health problems from high blood pressure to strokes and substance abuse. To promote health incentives employees can be given some fun activities like a company sports team or a free gym card. After all, one should always invest in work-life balance because time with friends and family is as important as time at work. Getting that out of balance is a path toward unhappiness.
‘Balance is not something you find, it is something you create!’ ~Jana Kingsford
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