Work-life balance — we all crave it, yet it seems so incredibly difficult to achieve. It’s easy for us to say “it’s impossible… my job is just too demanding.” And that might be true. In today’s work-place climate, it’s all too easy for work to become a 24/7, all-consuming aspect of our lives. Yet, with very few exceptions, it likely doesn’t need to be this way.
In my years as a corporate consultant, I’ve noticed that the top-tier performers in nearly every industry are deeply committed to their work-life balance. The way we spend our time at work has a direct impact on our time off. And how we spend our time off has a direct impact on our work. If you spend your leisure time in a way that is restful, enriching, and fulfilling, research shows that you will perform better in the office.
So what gets in the way of our ability to disconnect and recharge? What fuels your desire to stay in the office or prevents you from walking out the door on-time? In order to find the right solution to bring your work-life balance to equilibrium, it’s important to first get to the root of the problem.
My conversations with clients over the years has helped me to identify 3 common causes for work-life imbalance:
Poor Planning
A failure to plan ahead can put the kibosh on your work/life balance in several ways:
A recent U.K. study found that the average office worker is productive for an average of just 2 hours and 53 minutes out of a standard 8 hour work day. If you’re allowing more than half of your day to slip through your fingers due to distractions, interruptions, disorganization, and failure to look ahead, you can easily get stuck at the end of your day, or up against the weekend, with a huge unfinished project, causing work to flow over into your leisure time. Poor planning of your work can often result in having to take work home at night and on the weekends.
On the other hand, many people experience the opposite issue — pouring all of their planning energy into their workday, squeezing every ounce of productivity out of the day and then simply forget to take the time to plan out their personal lives in the process. Without a concrete and compelling activity to do in your leisure time, going onto the computer to get some work done, like completing a major project, will yield a greater sense of satisfaction than another night spent endlessly scrolling through Netflix.
If you get to your evenings and weekend without a plan, free time tends to disappear before your very eyes. The effect is that you aren’t refreshed, you lose energy and momentum, and lethargy begins to set in. You return to the office each Monday feeling more and more depleted.
Company Culture
While there always have been and always will be certain companies and bosses who value face time and hours worked over the quality of an employee’s output, studies have shown that even when a company is not putting pressure on its employees, people take on extra hours of their own volition. This is usually the result of an “unconscious company culture.”
There is a difference between the demand for 24/7 accessability and bad habits that have formed over time. Just because your boss sends out an email at 11pm on a Friday night doesn’t mean that she expects, or even wants, you to respond before you’re back at your desk Monday morning. Dare to analyze whether your 60+ hour work weeks are actually a demand of your role or whether unclear expectations have you tied to your inbox long past required hours.
Work as Primary Source of Value
Many people are energized and most at ease when they’re consumed by work. Work presents us with a sense of value and affirmation. The practical, measurable results offered by work can be more immediately gratifying than the effects of a personal life. Getting the report done, landing the contract, and running a successful meeting are tangible accomplishments, with concrete results. The payoffs of a personal life — a feeling of fulfillment, energy, and love — are more ambiguous, and much harder to measure, define, and access. That distinction can lead us to gravitate toward work--and feelings of guilt and lack of purpose if we aren’t working.
For the next week, be mindful about when, why, and how often you find your work creeping into your leisure time. This will help you determine what’s really standing in the way of your work-life balance. Is it external complications? Or is it something about your own mindset? Once you identify the obstacle, you can more easily overcome it.
Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll explore potential solutions to these common barriers to a healthy work-life balance.