In today’s fast-paced world, competition is pervasive. A certain level of competition can empower individuals to learn new skills to cultivate a culture of creativity and motivate them to push their limits, resulting in high performance and improved outcomes. However, at the same time, a competitive work environment also induces the feeling of comparison, where individuals often feel the pressure to outshine their colleagues. This feeling creates an environment of constant hustle and stress, where focus on personal well-being and personal interests are always kept at stake. Consequently, we must recognize the significance of work-life balance, which assists in enhancing the coordination between professional responsibilities and personal life.
Let’s understand it by an example, Zenith, a marketing manager at a startup, who found herself overwhelmed by long hours and constant deadlines, which took a toll on her health and personal life. Zenith was working day and night; extra hours became a norm for her and her colleagues. Zenith was initially excited for her company role dedicated to learning and facing new challenges. But, little did she know that work-life would infringe on her personal life, leaving her drained and anxious. Consumed in her work at the office and meeting several deadlines, not only she started missing personal family events and social gatherings with her friends but it also weighed heavily on her physical and mental health. Her mental health in the workplace was completely compromised. She experienced severe headaches, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. To meet several works demands, she struggled to maintain a work-life balance. She is not alone, most professionals in the US are grappling with work-life balance. The competitive environment and imposter syndrome merge the boundaries between work and home.
Imposter Syndrome: People who have imposter syndrome, constantly struggle to believe in their success and achievements, they persistently doubt their skills, talents, or accomplishments. They may attribute their success to luck or external factors rather than their skills or hard work. Assuming everyone is better than them, they are always in a constant rush to prove themselves, creating a never-ending cycle, that overwhelms them with work and negatively impacts their life commitments.
History of Work-Life Balance
Around the time of the Industrial Revolution, being present at your workplace for sixteen hours a day, 6 days per week was considered normal, even for children. However, people in power introduced the Cotton Mills and Factories Act, which proved to be an aid in improving the situation for children. It prohibited children under the age of nine from working and those in the age range of 9 to 16, were allowed to work for a maximum of twelve hours. Still, the overall situation was worse for all, personal time was only subjected to sleep. People were working like machines.
Modern Times, a silent comic movie, launched in 1936, is set around the age of industrialization, and acts as a critique of the capitalized world of industrialization and how it lays down the challenges for the working class. The opening scene of the movie highlights the similarity between sheep and workers by witnessing the depiction of sheep running in a field and instantly merging into workers running to their workplace. The clip of Billow’s feeding machine in the film serves as a masterful blend of humor and social critique. The force-feeding machine was designed to feed workers automatically while they were working, emphasizing the extreme automation of labor. The scene captures the struggle of the working class and acts as a strong reminder to reflect on the human cost of industrial progress.
Is it even possible to attain a lifestyle that fits both your professional work commitments and fosters personal bonds or in other words, is managing both private life and professional endeavors even practical? As simple as spending time with your family might seem challenging sometimes but if we know how to prioritize effectively, work-life balance is not that burdensome. In 1817, Welsh manufacturer and labor activist Robert Owen devised the phrase, “8 hours labor, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest.” The 1920s saw the advent of “9 to 5”, initiated by Henry Ford.
Impact Of Poor Work-Life Balance
Poor Work-Life balance can profoundly diminish both personal well-being and professional productivity. These days, office culture has become so stressful and target-driven that employees often feel overwhelmed by their daily workloads. Poor work-life balance management has made employees’ lives monotonous, causing many to focus solely on their jobs. Consequently, they tend to lose sight of other personal goals and aspirations beyond work. Simple pleasures, like taking a walk, playing with kids in the yard, or helping parents, are often sacrificed due to work pressure. This disregard for personal connections can eventually lead to feelings of regret or guilt. It’s essential to prioritize these moments to maintain a balanced and fulfilling life. Work pressure not only revolves around eight hours of work; it extends far beyond that. The extra time spent worrying about deadlines and work commitments often pushes personal pleasures aside, leading individuals to devote themselves entirely to their jobs and work demands. This can create a narrow focus that limits their overall well-being. If you’re constantly glued to your screens, scheduling meetings, and focusing solely on work, you may be unknowingly jeopardizing both your mental and physical health. Many employees find themselves exhausted due to work pressure or struggling with imposter syndrome, which can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and stress. It’s important to find a balance and make time for other aspects of life to maintain overall well-being. In other words, it is important for us to employ time management strategies as time management is a key for maximizing productivity, reducing stress, and achieving long-term goals by making the most of every moment.
Recent News – A recent news report about the death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old chartered accountant at the Indian branch of Ernst and Young, a British corporation multinational company based in London, England claims that toxic culture and work stress are the main reasons for her demise. The victim’s mother, Anita Augustine wrote an email to EY India Chairman, Rajiv Memani, calling her daughter’s death a “wake-up call”, urging him to reflect on their work culture and prioritizing employee wellness. Perayil worked day and night to meet the expectations but it is a clear example that shows how her determined efforts and dedication towards the company turned heavy on her physical as well as mental health. Initially, there were signs of anxiety, lack of sleep, and stress but she ignored them all and her stress management at work seemed of no importance, considering her signs as a part of the process in climbing the stairs of success. Reports alleged that she worked late at night and even on weekends, giving no space to personal goals or to foster personal bonds.
Achieving Work Life Harmony
“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” — Dolly Parton. Working hard isn’t a bad thing; however, dedicating your entire life solely to work can lead to stress, guilt, and serious health issues, thus managing work-life balance is essential for mental, emotional, and physical well-being and it assists us in achieving satisfaction in both the personal and the professional sphere. After gaining awareness about work-life balance, its history, impacts as well and importance, we must dive deeper into the steps of implementation that may help you manage your work-life efficiently and effectively:
- Evaluation: It might be a case where you tend to give most of your energy and time to a specific work which might not require too much attention, in that case, constant assessment helps you to recognize which area or field of your life is taking too much of your time and energy. As a result, you will be able to scrutinize and identify which area demands what, and therefore, at the end of the day, you will better understand your priorities. Over time, your priorities will evolve, shaping your outlook on life. Consequently, evaluation is a guiding tool to navigate the complexities of balancing work and personal life, enabling you to make more intentional choices.
- Boundaries: Creating clear boundaries and a line of separation between professional and personal life assists you in avoiding the chances of over commitment and gives you the time for those activities you usually sideline such as self-care, rest, or a little picnic day out. Evaluation gives you an idea of important and necessary activities you should take hold of, it gives you a clear picture of dividing work accordingly so you can set well-defined boundaries which eventually ensures that work and personal life don’t overly intrude on each other, fostering a more balanced and fulfilling existence.
- Scheduling: Planning creates or develops a clear structure to manage your work and personal time. By scheduling your daily, weekly, or monthly tasks, you can allocate specific work to a specific time slot. Distinction of work according to time creates a routine and enhances productivity, also allows you to incorporate flexibility. Scheduling your tasks and goals according to a given period, say monthly, weekly, or a day, helps you stay focused on the allotted task. For example, when one knows that he/she has several tasks to be completed in a month then he/she will plan accordingly and this planning will help them to create a balance between both work and personal life. The feeling of pressure and anxiety will diminish with a clear structure of the schedule or plan made.
- Learn to say “NO” : Even after evaluating, setting boundaries, and making a detailed plan, it might be a case where you are overburdened with several additional tasks, declining certain tasks will assist you in managing work-load, re-establishing boundaries, and making you well-versed with your limits. For many, saying no is the most difficult task to perform, and they end up saying yes to everything, as a result, it creates a feeling of anxiety, burden as well as dissatisfaction. For example, on a day off, you are given a task to be performed and submitted in a time range of 4 hours, however initially you planned to spend time with your family which was delayed for a long time due to work commitments. In that case, many people would agree to perform their task, canceling on the family but it is highly significant for us to understand the importance of pleasure time with our loved ones, especially when it comes after so long of working day and night. As the popular saying of Paulo Coelho states, “When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.” We all must understand that expecting others to perform last-minute work is highly immature and if in this case, one says “NO”, to our last-minute assigned tasks, then it is alright, that work can be shifted to another employee and if not to another employee, it can be shifted to another date. With this, we must remember that expectations are always there and we are talking on a very general level.
- Meditation: Our current society is majorly driven by rush and competition. A certain level of urgency and competition helps you to enhance your productivity but excess of it may lead to the feeling of where one feels overwhelmed with the constant burden. To release all the mental pressure, it is important to give time to yourself daily in the form of yoga, meditation, or any activity that helps you calm and allows you to focus on important things. Meditation boosts mood and assists you in functioning with a clear mind, not making you panic and allowing you to make informed and well-structured decisions.
Conclusion
“Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” — Joshua J. Marine. Maintaining a work-life balance is one of the biggest challenges for most professionals currently but at the same time, it is one of the most overlooked aspects in our society. While working hard in the hope of achieving success, we forget that we have a separate life from work that also needs equal time and energy. Dividing time slots for both personal and professional activities, lets you manage your work and private life. Nurturing a balanced life helps you achieve internal happiness and enhance your approach to both private and professional aspects of life. Achieving this equilibrium goes beyond personal ambition; it is a crucial step to attain a more fulfilling and purposeful life.
