Source : Lifehack
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| Featured Picture: Work Life Balance Sign post by Stuart Miles |
Conflict
between work and family life is one of the most common sources of stress for
working adults. In this productivity-driven society that we are living in, more
and more people are finding it hard to adequately fulfill their roles both at
home and at the workplace. More often than not, workers are unable to find a
point of balance between their careers and their families — there is always one
that is given more priority than the other. This behavior has been
associated with a number of dysfunctional outcomes — strained familial
relationships, inefficiency at work, and poor physical and mental health.
Hence, it is very important that we are
able to achieve balance between our work and our family life. This may
seem to be a very daunting task, but a lot of people have already done it, so
there shouldn’t be any reason that you can’t do the same. I myself have
struggled to balance my career and personal life for a time, but eventually I
was able to find success. Allow me to share with you how I did it:
I made the decision
to find balance.
Achieving work-family life balance is a
long and often daunting process. If you do not make the conscious decision to
achieve balance, it is likely that you will fail along the way. I have learned
through my experience that it is very important to make an effort to provide
the yourself opportunity for balance. For instance, you need to find yourself a
job that is challenging but not overwhelming; also carefully think about how
big of a family you can responsibly raise at the moment. By making wise
decisions on the most important matters in your life, attaining balance won’t be
a difficult thing.
I involved people I
trust in the process.
I used to think that I was the only one
who could solve my work versus family life conundrum. But over time,
I realized that there is no way for me to get things right if I only rely on
what I know–or at least think I know. So I made it a point to regularly discuss
with my husband and children their perceptions, opinions, and even objections
with my work. This opened my eyes to a lot of things and made me better of
aware of the issues that I needed to deal with and improve. I also made sure
that the entire family understood my obligations and responsibilities at work.
Thus, there was also more understanding on their part.
I established limits
and boundaries between family and work.
It is important that we create
boundaries or imaginary lines of protection between your work and family. This
means determining which actions are acceptable and unacceptable. Boundaries
hold the line to protect your work from the distraction of family, as well as
protect your family involvement from the obligations at work. With clear
boundaries, it would be easier for you to tell when your action is not in favor
of one aspect of your life.
I accepted that
imbalance is sometimes unavoidable.
With my struggle to attain the perfect
balance between work and family, I was able to realize that there will always
be times that I will have to let work or family take priority. It would be
impossible to perfectly balance everything in your life at all times. For
example, when one family member is sick, you may need to skip a work event; or
when an important deadline must be met, you might need to miss dinner at home
and stay working in the office late.
The dilemma of balancing family and
work has no easy solution. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every person
and family must find specific solutions to their issues depending on their own
preferences and needs. But basically, a balance between work and family occurs
when a person is able to sufficiently meet family commitments and adequately
perform responsibilities at work. There is nothing wrong with working hard to
gain some of the finer things in life, but you should also not forget the worth
of the things and people that really matter most.
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