Get Your Life in Balance

Get Your Life in Balance

With the ever-increasing pressures we face in all dimensions of our lives – work, family and social – it is becoming harder than ever to get everything done. But, it is possible to regain a sense of ‘balance’ in our lives if we learn to re-educate ourselves in the practice of a healthy worklife balance ethic. In fact, many employers have introduced initiatives welcoming a worklife balance for their employees. This involves implementing arrangements that can help employees combine their job with other areas of their lives such as family, social and educational. For example, many companies allow employees to work on a flexi-time basis which can allow working mums to drop the children at school every morning before work, or enable someone to have leave early on Friday – provided of course that employees work up their hours at other times by working through lunch or working late on days that suit them. After all, a poor worklife balance interferes with your personal development goals, such as completing that pottery course you always wanted to do, learning to play badminton, or maybe dusting down the books and taking up a course in Literature.

Time is of the essence in creating a sense of balance in your life. The more you learn how to manage your time more effectively, the less stressed you will feel and you will realise how much more you are achieving. It is easy to put things off and let them build up until they become a big group of unmanageable tasks, but if you get them out of the way as they come along you will find yourself with time to spare for yourself too. Don’t be afraid to ask for – or accept – help either. Any ways in which you can lighten your workload by sharing responsibilities and chores is always worthwhile. It can give you double the time you might normally have and double the energy too – time and energy which you can channel into other areas of your life by making a serious effort to keep attending your night course or exercise class perhaps?

If you are finding that your worklife is demanding too much of your time and leaving you with a million and one other things to do at home, it may be a good idea to consider ways in which you could alleviate the load. Could flexi-time or job-sharing be the answer? Employers know the importance of good and happy employees – so when a family situation occurs that could get in the way of you being able to get to work on time, for example, there are ways to resolve the situation. Whatever your circumstances, your employer may be able to rearrange a schedule that suits you. Things to negotiate may include: flexi-time, job-sharing, swapping full-time work for part-time work or even working from home (telecommuting). Do your research – see what your company’s policies are on all of these things and then approach your boss, putting your case forward and showing how your employer will benefit from the change too. A happy worklife is the first step in creating a happy work and non-work balance. One way in which you might achieve this balance is by pursuing an evening class. Good employers recognise the benefits of their employees embarking on adult education programmes, whether work-related or not, as it is time spent profitably on the individual leading to a more satisfied and organised employee.

If you are not happy at work you should ask yourself why. Are you in the right career? Is there something else you would prefer to be doing that would make you happier and make the balance between home and worklife easier? If so, then what is stopping you from doing it? Nothing makes life more rewarding than achieving something you have always wanted, whether that be learning to cook or training to be a teacher. With thousands of day and night courses out there – and the option of e-learning too – it really couldn’t be easier! In fact, it could be just what you need – a new career with a new improved worklife balance.

Why not pay a visit to the Changing Career section of our website?