Work-life balance. Something I suck at. Actually, something many of us suck at. I'll have to
work late figuring out how many of us suck at it. Hmm. Maybe have to work through lunch
too.
When people ask what I do, I answer work. Then they ask "How's work," and I say, "Busy.
I work a lot." That's bad, you guys. Really bad. I get stressed and my productivity drops.
People get burned out… they show up but they don't try. All because they don't know
when to be working and when to be NOT working. This is work-life balance. And pretty much
anyone who works struggles with it. Whether your collar is blue, white, green, pink or
just a hoodie; work-life balance is important. And yet, according to a study by the American
Sociological Review, 70 percent of American workers struggle with this balance. Worldwide,
according to a survey by EY, one-third of people have trouble managing their balance.
Work-life balance is important, because the consequences of its dismissal is a big ol'
dose of our lovely friend: STRESS.
People who lack work-life balance, have higher levels of stress. Period. And stress is real
bad, as we all know. In a national work survey on work-life balance and stress, 89 percent
of the stress in Canadian's lives was due to work, and that stress led to both mental
and physical health problems for many. For example, busy people can become lonely in
their work, and loneliness (like stress) compounds the problems. The Global Benefits Attitudes
study looked at workers in 12 countries and found: stressed-out workers have higher levels
of absenteeism, and disengagement than those with low stress; which makes sense because
physical and mental stresses reduce immune response and open the body to hypertension,
which can further decrease productivity.
And this affects parental couples even more! 80 percent of Millennials have a working spouse,
compared to 73 percent of GenX and only 47 percent of Baby Boomers. A study in the International
journal of leadership studies found women bear more of the traditional family roles
and have more difficulty with work-family balance; though both spouses feel that stress.
On top of that, when both spouses work, and one falls sick, the other must often take
sick days too, so the family is cared for. Overall, people with no work-life balance
took 1.8 times the sick days of low-stress workers.
The thing is, it's an easy fix. Companies and people just have to recognize sometimes
you SHOULDN'T be working. In the words of a 1983's Valley Girl, we all need to "get
a life." Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France have productivity at or above the United
States, all while the EU mandates laws promoting work-life balance like mandated family leave,
vacations, and other worker protections. I don't think anyone can accuse Germans of being
stereotypically lazy, and yet for some reason, the implication of work-life balance as a
goal strikes Americans as not wanting to work hard. But, adopting work-life balance doesn't
mean you have to stop caring about your job, phone it in, or not work hard. But instead,
according to professionals who've achieved it: have clear boundaries and focused goals!
Having goals at work, and understanding how to achieve those, helps, but also know when
to stop working. STOPPING working (even for five minutes) can actually help you be more
productive when you pick it up again. According to Harvard Business Review, businesses that
increase work-life balance initiatives see greater productivity, and a less-stressed
workforce. Leaving work to take a break, listening to music, and even being honest with your
co-workers increases the balance, but also WORKING when at WORK helps us divide our day
into work time and personal time. At-work procrastination screws us, because we feel
bad about the wasted time; so stay away from your phone, and social media. Don't forget
to have hobbies and out-of-work interests , because it helps us decompress from work;
and set aside time for family and friends too. A strong network of people supporting
us helps keep us from being lonely, decreases our stress, and helps us advanced social primates
chill out.
The key is, according to the literature, to do what's right for YOU. The 2007 Nobel Laureate
in Medicine Oliver Smithies is married to another scientist and believes this too. He
says it's okay to work late long as you're on the same wavelength as your spouse. "Find
a partner who understands what you're going to do... and do your share in making the family
work."
If you're going to get out of the office, the new Toyota Tacoma might be for you. The
Tacoma encourages you to break the rules, and PLAY NOW. After a ten-year wait, the all-new
Tacoma is finally here. It’s been fully redesigned to play whenever and wherever you
want.
Do you work too much? Do you work too little? Tell me about it in the comments. I work too
much. For sure. But I love my job, because y'all are here.