Work-Life Balance
On several occasions, I’ve read information on the web about ‘work-life balance’. - You know, how companies are realizing the importance of balance between work and life. It’s important for their employees to have a balanced life, because a happy employee, is a much more productive and creative employee.
I’m not sure exactly which companies are concerned with their employee’s stress levels, because I don’t think the one I work for is. I’m not knocking them, I’m just saying that customer service, efficiency, and profit is the focus and the bottom line. Working out stress and creating balance in the other aspects of life, is primarily a responsibility left to the employee.
So, is keeping balance between work and the rest of your life important? I sure think so, but I don’t think a company can or will provide that for you.
According to David B. Bohlof Reflections on Balance,
…companies attempt to frame the work-life discussion in a way that is most favorable to them………The discussions that companies have with their employees about work-life balance are adversarial by nature. At the heart of it, the company wants more work from the employee and the employee wants more time off. Thus, company-employee discussions are win-lose propositions because they invariably end up being about the corporation versus the employee.
The fact is that to achieve a balance between work and the rest of your life, that’s something that you will have to do for yourself. Waiting on your employer to provide that, is like waiting for the government to provide it……..as they fix all your other problems as well. That’s how I see it….
Not just work. Studies as well, for the kids. Though, it’s pretty hard to find a balance in Life. There’s always something that is needed way more, in terms of time/ importance than the rest.
Definitely. Balancing your time, whether personal, with family, or for other tasks is very difficult. It makes it a lot harder if you have an unusual work schedule.
I don’t know if you ever get total balance …
but as long as you keep the teeter-totter moving up and down, you get a shot of everything you need regularly.
…..or maybe moving the “teeter-totter” is the act of balance….?
balancing life and work is what moms like me juggle daily. like Shane i don’t know if it’s ever balanced but i hope the more important one gets to be up all the time. =) nice site.
One thing I know for sure: either you will run your schedule, or your schedule will run you. We were created to have a certain amount of down time, and if we don’t, there will be a price-tag.
Yeah, to the extent of your control, I think you definitely have to set priorities. It’s extremely easy to get busy in things that aren’t all that important. On the other hand, it’s just as easy to let things that are important slide because we spend too much time on unimportant matters.
Even though many things are beyond our control, choosing to live a balanced life is certainly within our control.
I truly believe that not only does each of us have the ability to create the lives that we truly desire; everything we need to live that life is already inherent within each of us.
We all know that we can be diverted in our efforts by such things as procrastination, lack of motivation, technology (television, iPods, phones, and computers - especially e-mail and the internet), long commutes, and demands on our time by work and loved ones.
These things can be managed, integrated, or separated from when we take the time to consider what’s most important to us and choose to live a life in support of those values. Then we’re on our way to living well-balanced, fulfilled lives and lifestyles.
Thanks for your comment, David. I appreciate you taking a look at my site.
When I say “to the extent of your control”, I’m merely referring to the present situation one may be in. I realize that we can plan our life in such a way, that our values can be lived in that balance.
I have a lot of respect for what you do. Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Well Anthony i definitely see it just like you see it. I’ve worked for some companies where it simply didn’t matter to them if their employees were stressed or depressive. I can’t really think of any reason why an employer would not invest some time and money making sure their employees are doing ok. In the long run it would be way more profitable for them, and the money spent on that would actually come back to them tenfold. Happy employees will work better and harder.
It is also very nice of David to comment on the post!
Yeah Jonathan,
I think it would be in a companies best interest to create an environment where their employees could “have a life” outside of work. However, when you get old and look back on your life, you can’t really blame the company you work for if you didn’t have a good family life.
I agree with you, it’s up to the employees to work on their life outside of the job. No employer is going to that for you, it could just be a little easier for the employees to have some kind of support from the employer. One of the companies i’ve worked for (about 5 years), had this “you can call in sick, if your kids are sick” things, and also they hired psychologists and people to help employees, i thought it was awesome that an employer was willing to help its employees that much.. but prob is we got on a lock-out for about 13 months.. the company got sold to someone else.. and all that was gone when we got back to work.. bah i’ll try to earn as much online as i did back then
It sounds like they had some really nice benefits! Those are few and far between.
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I find that when I feel that my life is in balance is when I am walking close to the Lord. When I am out of balance is when I let other things become more important than my time with him.
Well, Nana(Mom), I believe this is the first time you’ve commented on my site, so welcome
…..and, Happy Mothers Day!
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[…] Baggett of Antbag got it right in his Work-Life Balance post when he said: “The fact is that to achieve a balance between work and the rest of your […]