A healthy environment at work needs a work-life balance. The person who can achieve this balance must balance work and personal matters – without stress or overwhelming feelings. Thus, it is imperative to dedicate effort and time to maintaining a balance between your professional and personal life; doing so may help you overcome negative emotions and develop effective time management strategies.
In this article, we’ll talk about why work-life balance is vital!
What Work-Life Balance Is
Work-life balance is the healthy juggling of your work and personal life, fostering well-being and minimizing stress.
Moreover, this concept helps promote self-care. However, how one does it can vary as people have different needs, preferences and priorities; a blend of work, family, and personal time can lead to a fulfilling life within and outside the office.
According to a study by Avivia, work-life balance has given some interesting insights. Since the pandemic, people have prioritised their work-life balance over salary. According to Aviva’s study, many said they liked their current occupation due to the work-life balance benefits it provides, not the salary (41%). In 2019, workers prioritized salary over work-life balance.
Why Is Work-Life Balance Important
Better Health
Prioritizing work-life balance is essential because of its health benefits. Beyond work, you need other things to keep you occupied and relaxed, like a game of Tongits. Better stress management and reduced risk of developing chronic health conditions such as heart disease, anxiety, and depression can lead to better health, especially for millennials. This is also why many millennials are running, due to its cost-efficiency and health benefits.
With the right balance, you can focus on self-care, engage daily in physical activity and maintain a balanced diet and lifestyle. Healthy habits such as these that we’ve mentioned encourage well-being and resilience, making it easier for you to cope with the stress of the professional workplace and life’s tumultuous storms.
More Engagement
Encouraging work-life balance can be a boon for the workplace, as it has many positive effects. Tower Perrin’s global survey states that highly engaged companies had big gaps in performance improvement in operating income. Companies that had high employee engagement improved their operating income.
An engaged workforce can be beneficial as people will go the extra mile for the company and advocate for the product and brand.
Lessen Stress
Work-related stress occurs when employees become overwhelmed by responsibilities and workload. By controlling these, you can effectively achieve personal and professional balance.
Some tips to achieve this effect are:
- Scheduling in advance things
- Prioritizing the most urgent tasks
- Consider your mental and physical well-being while working on your tasks
- Delegate other more minor tasks
- Assign last-minute functions for the following day
Avoiding Burnout
Stress is something we all have to deal with. However, workplace burnouts are avoidable; you should ensure this does not happen again to you or your colleagues. Burnouts happen when we cannot meet constant demands and we feel overwhelmed. Sadly, its impacts are powerful and can affect every aspect of our lives.
Thus, you have to take time off and relax. It would help if you also relay this to your other teammates.
Presence and Mindfulness
We perform better when we sustain a healthy balance between work and relaxation outside of it. We have more control over our focus and ability to concentrate on the task at hand—such is the concept of mindfulness. By encouraging people to partake in a healthy work-life balance, you promote a productive and focused environment that can avoid burnout.
Wrapping Up
Work-life balance is more important than we think. The adverse effects of burnout have a significant negative impact that can take as long as years to recover from. As a result, it becomes more imperative to encourage young people and other employees to practice work-life balance. Not only will it help the employees, but it can also help the management and the company profit.