When did it become acceptable for our 9am to 5pm working day to become 8am to 7pm?
Many of us have allowed this to happen, whether it is through conforming to the workplace culture, or feeling obliged to put in more hours, however this should not be the case. Maintaining a work-life balance is about separating your personal and professional lives without allowing one to encroach upon the other. Both are important, neither should be neglected.
We all hope to achieve the perfect work-life balance where we can check off every task on the office to-do list before heading home at the right time to spend quality time with family, friends, or lazing around as we wish. Unfortunately, that balance proves elusive as the demands of a substantial workload take their toll. Overworked and overtired at the office, the only option left to most of us is to finish off the work at home, allowing work life to spill into personal time.
Reasearch has showed a direct link between positive workplaces and positive families. In today’s article, we look at the importance of maintaining a work-life balance.
1.It affects your health
Allowing work stress to infiltrate your home life is one of the primary indicators that you are not achieving a work life balance. If this is happening to you, take the time to talk this over with your manager, or come up with a plan to avoid a burnout as a result of your professional demands. Also it is important that one exercises regularly and adapts to healthy eating habits.
According to lead researcher Dr Huong Dinh from the ANU Research School of Population Health, “Long work hours erode a person’s mental and physical health because it leaves less time to eat well and look after themselves properly.”
And, as the old adage says: healthy body, healthy mind so a great way to maintain your mental health is to ensure that you are physically feeling healthy too. The stress caused from such a lifestyle can lead to other physical issues like high blood pressure and heart disease. It’s just not worth it. A very common issue that you may have heard about is burnout. This occurs when immense pressure is put onto a person, culminating in “chronic stress.”
2.Increases Productivity
With a balance between work and home, comes greater control of where your focus remains. If you leave your work at the office, your full attention will be on your home life and giving your relationships the attention in which they deserve. When spending time with your partner, children or friends, your mind should be solely focused on the experience you are having, rather than thinking of work concurrently. Similarly, if you are in the office, greater focus should be paid on the tasks at hand. In turn, this makes you a more efficient and productive worker, and demonstrates one of the many benefits of achieving a work life balance.
There are various kinds of activities that we can undertake to maintain a work-life balance that includes regular exercise and eating healthy but also not overdoing it at work. Having interests outside of work will increase and improve your skills and make you a more rounded and interesting individual. You’ll be able to share those experiences and knowledge with other people.
If you would like to know more about how this topic, do join us at the H.E.R Virtual Summit as we bring Kenneth Choo, Author of Mother Industrialist, who will be giving us more in depth insight on this.
Registration is FREE!!
You can register at https://hervirtual2019.peatix.com/
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