Once we step into the corporate world, it is inevitable that a significant portion of our days is spent at work. Our paid employment is crucial in ensuring that we are able to make our ends meet and are financially prepared to pursue our life goals. Ironically, it could be the other way round - we are overwhelmed by our workload, and ended up facing trouble to make time for ourselves, not to mention time to achieve our goal.
Therefore, working adults are in search of a healthy balance between career and personal life. Work-life balance carries different meanings for different people, and their common ground is the ability to fulfill the demands of their career without deteriorating the other important aspects in their life, such as family-related and personal interest. A harmonious work-life balance is less about devoting an equal time between work and personal life, instead it is more about having control over our life. We wish to have the flexibility to accomplish tasks in our professional life, whilst having the time and energy to live our life to the fullest.
A poor work-life balance could be resulted from toxic work culture, where the workers are expected to work themselves to death but not being financially compensated for their sacrifice. Technology advancement has enhanced our social connectedness, on the other hand increased the accessibility of workers around the clock, making work-life balance more impossible. The current global recession and layoffs looms have exacerbated the job insecurity, thus the workers are forced to constantly plug in.
Besides, there is a trade off between work and personal time. The opportunity cost of enjoying personal quality time rather than working is higher than one climbing up the corporate ladder. Consequently, the employees are burned out, which in turn suffer low productivity, deteriorate their physical and mental health, jeopardize their social life and escalate the company's workforce turnover rate.
As the workplace trends are transforming due to millennials' demand for work-life balance, numerous organizations have emphasized the organizational culture in supporting the goal of work-life balance. They have adopted remote working policies and valued their employees' integration of work and private life. Remote working has also become a key method for the organizations to stay ahead of disruption and boost employees' morale. The ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease has accelerated the digital transformation of work, resulting in more companies embracing work from home arrangement.
Sadly, remote working does not necessarily lead to an achievement of work-life balance. The boundaries between work and private life have been blurred, and the lack of performance visibility has resulted in an increase in either surveillance by superiors or expectation to boost productivity. The homebound employees are logging in longer working hours than in office. The never-ending workday compounds their stress. The underlying problem is, there is no legitimate excuse to escape from impromptu meetings or con-calls, with the expectation that people have no where to go and nothing to do except their job.
The hard truth is, work-life balance does not exist. There is just work, especially in the Asian countries which highly value the culture of long working hours. It would be awesome to achieve a balance but our lives do not exist in silos. Some suggest that workers should instead pursue work-life integration or harmony. They are advised to think about their work and the other aspects of life as a whole, rather than separating the compartments of their life. Balance tends to imply a strict trade-off, which is difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, there are counter arguments that work-life integration or harmony is merely an euphemism for working outside hours.
Attaining work-life balance is a never ending process, yet we should not stop fighting for it! If we are not the one who care about our well-being, who else will? Hence, start treating yourself better today for working hard. It could be a small cup of coffee, a home-cooked delicious lunch, some good music, or a short break. Useful tips to achieve work-life balance are available at Forbes and The Guardian, provided by career experts. Do try the method that is suitable for you!
"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."
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