The Balance

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Healthy mental health is up to each individual, there is no right way, but it is highly recommended that a firm balance is established between your work and social life.

As mentioned there is no single formula for attaining a balanced life. It is a personal decision how one combines their career, partner, children, friends and self into an integrated whole. The key is to develop creative solutions as you approach the challenges of balancing the responsibilities of your multiple roles. Some of the same skills and strategies you use at work such as planning, organizing, communicating, setting limits and delegating can be used effectively on the home-front for achieving a satisfying, fulfilling and well-balanced life both personally and professionally.

Professionals have long assumed that the balancing act between work and personal life only results in problems, like time pressures, family/work conflicts, guilt, etc. However, new research is demonstrating that the balance (when done successfully) can produce benefits, too. People who perform multiple roles (worker, spouse, parent, caregiver, etc.) report that they experience greater overall physical health, relationship satisfaction, and well-being. For example, Rosalind Chait Barnett, PhD, of Brandeis University found that among dual-career couples, positive involvement with family protected them from distress when their jobs became problematic.

For most people the balance is very rarely achieved, you either work too much, or focus soley on how to solve a problem at work allowing no time to relax or clear their mind. Or the individual wants to have fun all the time, going out all night and returning to work tired and fatigued. Although we only live once running yourself down by partying or having an overactive social life will end up running down your immune system. This causes two issues, the first being you get sick eg cold, which keeps you at home or social life restricted which gets you down, and the second is if you go to work with a cold or flu you run the risk of passing it on to others. These are only examples of how hard it is to keep a balanced lifestyle. Think about what works for you.

Giving time for work and play gives you a healthy mental wellbeing. The issue of work and play is different for each individual, some people work two jobs, some need the overtime, others have goals and need extra money to complete them, some have children and need to cook, clean and put them to bed when they get home from work, the list is endless. But it is up to you to recognise the time devoted to work and play, and devise a solution when you can feel that you are achieving both.

A few factors contribute to achieving an effective work / personal life balance, including:

Working between 20 - 45 hours per week.

Working more than 45 hours per week produces more conflict between work and family, while employees who work less than 20 hours per week do not reap as many benefits (such as improved physical health and marital satisfaction) from their multiple roles.

A good fit between work schedule and employee preference.

Flexible scheduling tends to increase employee satisfaction and lessen the conflict between work and family. When the work schedule fits poorly with an employee's preferences, burnout is more likely to occur.

Amount of job autonomy.

Employees who have control over decision-making as part of their jobs report less burnout and healthier family relationships.

Supportive social relationships, both inside and outside work.

Employees who report supportive, friendly relationships with their co-workers are more satisfied with their jobs and more able to maintain the appropriate work / personal life balance, while support outside work from friends and family increases satisfaction with family and child-care decisions. It is important to note that one strategy people may use to maintain the work / personal life balance - decreasing social involvement to meet work-family demands - actually increases work-family conflict!

Family flexibility.

Family members who consider work important are more likely to be supportive of the worker's need to balance work and family life.

Personality style.

Assertive people experience less work-family conflict because they are better able to set up strategies for maintaining the balance between their roles. However, perfectionists - those who try to be perfect in every role - experience more work / personal life conflict and more guilt.

Several strategies can help you maintain a good balance between work and personal life, including:

Learn how to set limits - and stick to them!

Setting limits (for how you will respond to demands from both your work and your personal life) will prevent you from over-committing yourself. But limits are only effective if you stick to them, so make sure you follow through on the decisions you have made about what to cut back on. As you are setting limits for yourself, it may be helpful to imagine situations in which you would be tempted to disregard your limits - and decide how you will handle these situations. That way, you won't be caught unaware into situations in which you might over-commit yourself.

Take advantage of your workplace's family-friendly policies and supports.

If your workplace offers discretion over the methods, timing, or location of your work, use this flexibility to improve your situation.

Prioritise your multiple roles.

When you become clearer about your priorities and values, it becomes easier to make decisions and set limits between the demands of work and personal life.

Reduce the psychological conflicts you experience between work and personal life.

Surprisingly, time is not necessarily the main conflict we experience between work and personal life. Instead, the psychological conflicts (guilt, difficulty "turning off" work behaviors at home, pressure, anxiety) create the most problems. Clarifying your values, setting priorities, and actively reducing the psychological importance of one or more of your roles may be required to reduce the conflicts, and the negative emotions that arise from them.

Protect each role from interference by the others.

When you are at home, turn off your mobile phone, laptop, beeper, or email, so that you can be fully "present" during this time. Similarly, when you are at work, try to limit personal life intrusions - this will help you be more efficient and effective during your workday.

Develop stress-management skills.

The ability to take care of yourself by doing things you enjoy - like reading, exercising, or indulging in a favorite hobby - is essential to maintaining the proper work / personal life balance. Caring for yourself in these ways will allow you to reduce your stress and reward yourself for a job well done!

ref: The Family Institute - Lynne Knobloch-Fedders, PhD, and Ben Gorvine, PhD. - Achieving a Balance between Work and Personal Life