As hybrid and remote working are becoming more prevalent among employees, the lines between work and home have become harder to separate and many of us have found it difficult to maintain a good work-life balance (1). In light of this, it’s important for us to recognise the benefits of spending time away from work and how to maintain a healthy balance between work and home life.
What does a health work-life balance look like?
Although it is challenging to provide a single definition to work-life balance that captures all of its aspects, researchers agree that a good work-life balance is demonstrated by an individual’s perception that their work and non-work activities are compatible and promote personal growth in accordance with their current life goals and priorities (2).
It’s not about splitting time equally between work and non-work but ensuring that you feel fulfilled by both areas of your life.
Some characteristics of a healthy work-life balance include (3):
- Meeting deadlines whilst still having time for family, friends or hobbies
- Eating and sleeping well
- Not worrying about work whilst at home
- Not working later than the normal finish time
- Feeling satisfied and having a sense of personal growth
The importance of work-life balance
Many of us have caught ourselves checking worked emails late at night or staying in front of the computer past our normal working hours. Research by Lupu and colleagues (4) suggests that between 50-70% of people in professional roles have worked longer hours than contracted by their employer because of the assumption that doing so (i.e. working hard) is a prerequisite of success. However, it’s this tendency and pressure to over-work that leads to a poor work-life balance, which in turn negatively impacts our wellbeing.
The effects of a poor work balance on wellbeing are negative as a whole, however some of the particular effects include (5):
- Increased stress, both in and away from the workplace
- Increased feelings of life dissatisfaction, depression and alcohol use
- Decreased family satisfaction due to a decreased involvement in family roles
- Poorer work performance, either due to a need to sacrifice work hours to fulfil missed non-work commitments or due to increased stress and depression
Tips for improving work-life balance
Tackling a poor balance and creating work boundaries can be challenging, especially with increased technology allowing us to work from home and check our emails at any point during the day (and night), but the first step towards doing so is assessing our perceptions of work-life balance.
Rather than seeing a good work-life balance as an achievement to work towards, it’s better to recognise it as a continuous cycle (6) in which we are making healthy decisions to better separate work and non-work, whilst reflecting upon whether other priorities in our lives are being undermined by a poor work-life balance.
You can also take direct action, for example (7):
- Outline realistic schedules for what you can achieve within typical working hours and ask for help if you’re unable to complete your tasks within that time
- Actively set aside time to focus on yourself or something you enjoy
- Learn to be able to say “No” – agreeing to additional tasks during a very busy schedule can cause further stress and require you to stay at work beyond normal working hours
How Impact can help
We at Impact recognise the importance of good work-life balance, particularly with regards to wellbeing. We support clients and their teams in establishing healthy boundaries between work and home life to help them feel fulfilled and happy. We offer one-to-one and group coaching, along with bespoke interventions and workshops. Our workshops are wellbeing-focused (especially as wellbeing is one of our 5 pillars!) and often cover topics such as resilience, self-compassion and the importance of self-care. To find out more about how we can help you and your team, contact us here.
References
1: Bellmann, L., & Hübler, O. (2021). Working from home, job satisfaction and work–life balance–robust or heterogeneous links. International Journal of Manpower, 42(3), 424-441.
2: Guest, D. E. (2002). Perspectives on the study of work-life balance. Social Science Information, 41(2), 255-279.
3: Mental Health Foundation: Work Life balance
4: Lupu, I., Ruiz-Castro, M., & Leca, B. (2022). Role Distancing and the Persistence of Long Work Hours in Professional Service Firms. Organization Studies, 43(1), 7–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840620934064
5: Delecta, P. (2011). Work life balance. International journal of current research, 3(4), 186-189.
6: Harvard Business Review: Work life balance is a cycle, not an achievement
