TOWARDS A POSITIVE WORK-LIFE BALANCE

TOWARDS A POSITIVE WORK-LIFE BALANCE

“DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT, DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO EXCHANGE FOR IT. ESTABLISH YOUR PRIORITIES AND GO TO WORK” – H L HUNT

A positive “Work Life Balance” is a term that refers to an individual’s perception of the degree to which she is experiencing positive relationships between work and family, where the relationships are viewed as compatible and at equilibrium with each other. Individual condition is like a fulcrum shifting weights of time and energy allocation between work and family life, the term, “work-family-balance”, provides a metaphor to contest the historical belief that work and family relationships can often be competing, at odds, and conflicting.

There is no doubt that finding a balance between work and family in today’s competitive work environment is not an easy task. Not very long back, we were terming work-life balance as a “Western” problem and India would never be affected by it. But the employees in the country are now struggling with the inevitable effect of all work and no play. As an individual, on the one hand, the drive is to keep up with the workload, to go up the corporate ladder and prove oneself. While on the other side it is the demand for quality time with family and friends, which ultimately results in fatigue, missed milestones, frustration and sense of incompleteness. For the ‘We want it all” generation, this delicate see-saw to reduce stress and maintain harmony is an ongoing challenge.

So whether the problem is too much focus on work or too little, the feeling that our work life and personal life are not jelling together creates stress and its harmful side effects. Ultimately, work-life balance depends on individual choices. It requires each employee to examine one’s priorities and set boundaries. Above all, it is the awareness that balance does not mean doing everything, everytime.

Traditionally, researchers have assumed a “win-lose” relationship between work and family and focused on “work-family-conflict”, based on the belief that individuals have limited time and resources to allocate to their many life roles. Sometime, it is difficult for the individual to match both work and family life and thus crating an inter-role conflict where work and family roles are incompatible and seem as competing for an individual’s time, energy, and behaviours on and off the job.







(MORAL: EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOTHING, YOU CAN GET ANYTHING. BUT YOUR ATTITUDE AND APPROACH SHOULD BE POSITIVE)