Work-life balance

Work-life balance

Many have wondered that while female students outperform male students academically in their school life, what exactly changes for most of them by the time they reach a later stage in life. It has become an observable fact and we even find some employers doubt sustained performance of the female employees. There’s no turning point that impedes quality and quantity of women’s output rather it all boils down to the work-life balance that strikes some of the women substantially. Juggling with too many personal and professional obligations make them preoccupied, and they end up being disgruntled for not being able to give their 100% despite wanting it very much. End result of such a situation is stress.

Need to work for longer hours arises due to certain factors like international business and global economy due to which work continues round the clock, constantly putting pressure on employees for higher output. Moreover due to advanced communication technology like laptop, mobile, one is not off the work completely and may have to always stay connected. Due to these factors, employers expect staff to stay longer, though there’s no written clause certifying it.

There are certain guidelines that can ease off the stress we carry on ourselves perpetually:

1. Prioritize: There are always jobs that are more important than the others. Decide importance of jobs and do them accordingly.

2. Delegate: Some of us may want to do all tasks ourselves but that’s not a very good idea. Division of labour clearly wins. You might lose your humour and spirit due to overload of work. Maintaining a happy spirit is more important than getting credit for doing all the work yourself.

3. Time Management: Maintaining a calendar for doing specific house errands once in a week is a better idea than doing them everyday, eg: organizing your workplace or home cabinets, on the other hand it is better to do certain tasks everyday eg: document and data management.

4. Don’t bring work home: There has to be clear demarcation of personal and professional responsibilities. Don’t do personal work at office and avoid office work at home.

5. Learn to say ‘no’: Recognize your limitations and don’t feel guilty for saying ‘no’ for any work, if you have to.

6. Pamper yourself: It is important to pamper yourself regularly. Get sufficient sleep and take a day off if you feel things are getting out of hand and that you need some time to streamline or unwind yourself.

7. You are entitled to some leisure time: Life is not just what happens to us in coffee-breaks or on dinner table; it’s an assortment of many activities. Recreational activities are therapeutic and rejuvenating.

There’s nothing out of ordinary about the above tips. They can be easily followed and we must see that we really incorporate them to lighten demands of life and maintain a healthy work-life balance.