Why Having a Good Work and Life Balance is so Important

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “The average American works 44 hours per week, or 8.8 hours per day.” With so much of our daily lives spent at our places of employment, it is important to make sure we keep a healthy balance for our own health and the health of those around us.

Fewer Health Issues

Work can often bring about stress and anxiety. With this stress comes an additional strain on our physical and mental health. With a poor work-life balance, you are more likely to develop a variety of health issues or symptoms. With increased stress, a person may develop poor eating or sleeping habits. Whenever dramatic changes to our physical or mental well-being occur, the results can be dramatic. Take time to unwind from your day and decompress. There are a lot of simple techniques you can use to improve your stress and anxiety levels after a tough day at work.

Better Engagement

When employees don’t feel tethered to their work 24 hours per day, they are more likely to not dread coming in every morning. When employees are able to have a separate life from their work, they are more likely to be happy and engaged during work hours. According to Tower Perrin’s 2006 global survey; “Companies with highly-engaged employees had a near 52% gap in performance improvement in operating income.” Additionally – “Companies with high levels of employee engagement improved 19.2% in operating income while companies with low levels of employee engagement declined 32.7%.” Stress the importance of keeping work at work and home life at home (within reason.)

Reduce “Burnout”

Stress can cause us to feel incredibly overwhelmed. This feeling is typically called “burnout.” These overwhelming feelings can take a lot of our energy and hurt us emotionally. Burnouts not only hurt us, but those around us can be negatively impacted as well. Encourage your team to step away and take time for themselves to avoid burning out or becoming overwhelmed. If this happens too frequently, you may experience higher rates of employee turnover.

Tips to Improve Work-Life Balance in your Office

There are simple changes you can make with your team to better the morale in your office. Encouraging your team to take vacations or mental health days are very important. Time off should not be viewed as a luxury. Taking a break is absolutely crucial in making sure we have time to recuperate and recharge. No one is ever as effective running on fumes than when they are firing on all cylinders. Another way to help yourself and your team is by incorporating short breaks throughout the workday. Workdays can easily begin to feel long and boring. By encouraging small breaks throughout the day, workplace productivity and morale should increase.

At the end of the day, we all rely on our jobs as a means of providing for ourselves and our families. Unless you are born into a wealthy family, it is very likely you will have to work at some point in your life. Making sure you take time for yourself and encouraging those around you to think about their mental and physical well-being before their work is the easiest way to help us achieve a sustainable and healthy work-life balance.