How's your work-life balance??
Chris Croft
★ Writer and Keynote Speaker, Project Management and Time Management, Negotiation Skills ~ UK-based
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We think we understand the idea of work life balance.?
"Don’t work too hard and get stressed!"
But when you think about it, there’s more to it than that...
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Q1: ?Is there more to work life balance than just the amount of time you spend at each place?
Q2: ?Is it okay to get more happiness from your work than from your personal life?
Q3: ?Do work and personal life have to be kept separate with a definite line
Q4:? How hard should you work?
Q5:? Is it good enough to work really hard and then just chill at home and recover?
Q6:? Does it count as a good work life balance if you spend very little time and effort on a job that you don’t really care about?
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I would suggest that the answers are…
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Q1: yes – it’s about the quality of the time you spend at each, and the amount of stress generated, and the amount of achievement generated.
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Q2: yes, as long as you are getting plenty of happiness from your personal life and even MORE from your work.? If your work is your main source of happiness then a) well done and b) your personal life needs attention!
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Q3: many would say yes, but I say no.? I think they are increasingly getting blurred by technology, and working from home – and you might as well embrace that.? Take a break to walk your dog half way through the work morning, and do some work in the evening once the sun has gone down.? Play with your kids at lunch time and do some work in the evening when they are asleep.? Think about work when you are on holiday, it’s OK to have some ideas and jot them down – is that work or not?? I don't even know!? Keeping them separate is not even feasible these days.
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Q4: As hard as you can. Without getting exhausted and ill, of course. ?I don't think hard work is correlated with stress.? Stress comes more from NOT being able to make progress.? Of course, hard work mustn’t be a substitute for working efficiently, …I’m imagining BOTH!? Having decided to do a job, you should do the best job you can, for your own pride as well as the customers and the success of your organisation.
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Q5: No, because home should be more than recovery time, it should involve projects and achievement and happiness, not just recovery.
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Q6: No – the balance has gone too far the other way.? Work should be an important thing in your life, because it’s the biggest source of purpose and achievement.? Minimising work means you are wasting five days a week of most of your life!
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I’ve been writing a course on work-life balance, and I’ll let you know when it’s ready.? But in the mean time, here are some of the strategies that I would recommend:
1.??????? Never get into the habit of working long hours in order to get more done - because it doesn’t achieve any more once it becomes a habit.
2.??????? You don't have to have a career as such, or you can have more than one career if you want, there’s plenty of time.
3.??????? Be careful of a job that creeps, gradually taking more of your time or getting more unpleasant.?
4.??????? Getting more money won’t improve your work life balance.? In fact the earning of the money will probably make things worse.
5.??????? Evolve your job towards the things you enjoy doing – each year, negotiate with your boss to add a bit of what you like and get rid of a bit that you don’t.
6.??????? Look out for the sunk cost fallacy – if something isn’t making you happy any more, get rid of it, however many years you have invested in it up till now
7.??????? Know if you’re a lark or an owl and plan your day accordingly.
8.??????? Become great at delegating – this can save you a lot of time.
9.??????? Have a regular catch-up time with your boss so you know they are happy.
10.? Have some projects outside of your work.
11.? Don’t assume that a definite line between work and home time is a good thing – increasingly they will be blended, so you might as well embrace it and find a way to be happy doing it like that.
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Onwards and upwards!
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CC
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Small Business Owner | Passionate ?? about Education & Growth ?? | ??
1 个月Great questions, Chris! For me, it’s less about counting hours and more about creating harmony between work and life. When my work energises me, I’m happier at home, and when I’m happy at home, I bring even more energy to my work. It’s about enjoying and achieving in both areas ?? If we are not experiencing that, it might be time to reassess and make changes. Work and life should complement each other, not compete.
Editorial Officer at UN Women
1 个月Very insightful! In fact, work-life balance means much more than simply not spending too much time at work. You have a very intelligent grasp of the subtle implications of this notion. I am looking forward to attending the course you are writing on this :)
Team Manager, Financial Analyst @ Financial Sector, Banks | Master's in Economics, Banking Strategy, M&A, Cross-Border Transactions, Corporate Banking, Risk Assessment Expert
1 个月Thank you Chris Croft. Excellent article. The most important questions are raised. Lots of insights and revelations about your organizational thinking, which makes your article on the topical issue of "what is your work-life balance" very valuable and in demand. However, it must be said that there are some disagreements. For example, about stress, mixing personal life and work, so as not to separate them with a line, and about making money, which in your opinion is most likely to worsen your life. In this last one I also do not quite agree with you in defining balance, meaning and priority. I do not plan to write here about geopolitics and the war in the center of Europe, in Ukraine, which is a real stress for 45 million people.? However, check out the LinkedIn course "Navigate Personnel Trauma and Triggers at Work" by Dr. Mariel Buqué https://www.dhirubhai.net/learning/navigating-personal-trauma-and-triggers-at-work/welcome. Well forgotten sometimes is new. Thank you again for your efforts in educating us.
Program Manager- Global Team Member & Community Engagement (ESG)
1 个月Super interesting Chris! The lines blurring is a real thing... big concept but becoming a reality. Question 5 is a good one...I totally agree that we shouldn't think of our life at the recovery time from work. ?? Work should give us some sense of purpose and the necessary means to enjoy life and flourish. ??
IT Manager
1 个月Great advice. Thanks Chris!