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What is work-life balance and how to achieve it

By Tom Huggins

14/07/2022

The rise of work/life balance has been a hot topic of discussion over the last few years, but what is ‘work-life balance’

In simple terms, work-life balance is the split between how someone spends their time and focus on work and family or leisure activities. Having this balance at equal equilibrium should allow you to feel like you are able to spend enough time to meet the needs of your work and your personal life. 

If this is unbalanced, it can lead to you having more work obligations, working longer hours, falling behind on personal tasks, and having a lack of personal time to spend doing the things you enjoy.  

In previous generations, there was a general ethos to turn up to work early and leave late to prove that you are working hard. This was a long-term strategy to help towards getting promotions and in turn pay rises. But now, people have realised there are also negative long-term effects for staying late at work such as it being bad for your physical and mental health. 

There is also a lack of correlation between staying late at work and doing more work. Burning the candle at both ends decreases your sleep quality, gives you less chance to exercise and often leads to a worse diet. These three things are detrimental to your ability to be productive during the workday.  

The toxic culture of overworking has finally begun to come to an end and people are now spending that extra time indulging in activities they enjoy, with themselves, family and friends.  

So, how do you create a work-life balance? 

There is no simple answer to this, as it is all about balance. Every individual and every company are different and different variables require different balances.  

The most important thing to understand when looking to create this balance is that – there is no perfect balance. As your workload changes and evolves and your personal life changes you will have to adapt your balance to this.  

Other things that you can do to create the right balance for you is: 

  • find a job that you love, 

  • set time aside for activities you enjoy, 

  • prioritise your mental health, 

  • exercise more, 

  • take breaks, 

  • and communicate your boundaries. 

By stepping back and looking at what you want your balance to look like, you can assess the steps you need to make to bring the correct change into your life and avoid burnouts.  

You can read our blog 'Is work-life balance the new bank balance?' here.

We’d love to hear from you so please feel free to email tom.huggins@ic-resources.com or call us on 0118 988 1150. 

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