Many people think that daily overtime, working ten or twelve hours a day, including weekends and staying up all night is the way to professional success and enrichment. They allow employers to exploit themselves, sometimes organizing their whole lives around their work. Meanwhile, such behavior is a simple way to professional burnout and health problems. Therefore, it is very important to keep a balance, i.e. the so-called. work-life balance, between personal, private and family life and work.

Work-life balance is a state of full balance between our career and work, and personal family life, social life, entertainment and free time. Thanks to this, our professional and private life creates a coherent and harmonious whole, and we feel satisfied and satisfied. Achieving such a state is fully dependent on us, not on other people, including our supervisor, co-workers or family members. It can be achieved by everyone, regardless of the position they hold, the company they work for or their profession. Moreover, it is not about an equal division of time between professional duties and free time, nor about working in rigidly fixed hours, e.g. from 8.00 to 16.00. Speaking of work-life balance, we also do not mean limiting working time to a minimum, not answering phone calls, absence from meetings and company meetings that take place outside of our working hours or complete resignation from weekend business trips. Of course, the amount of time you spend at work is very important, but it is not crucial. More important is flexibility and readiness in sudden and unforeseen situations and the choice of priorities, what is most important and less important for a given person. When we find our own way to achieve balance, we will feel safe, happy and satisfied with our lives and work. More important is flexibility and readiness in sudden and unforeseen situations and the choice of priorities, what is most important and less important for a given person. When we find our own way to achieve balance, we will feel safe, happy and satisfied with our lives and work. More important is flexibility and readiness in sudden and unforeseen situations and the choice of priorities, what is most important and less important for a given person. When we find our own way to achieve balance, we will feel safe, happy and satisfied with our lives and work.

Many employers might think that reducing the amount of work time of subordinates means only losses for the company, because they are able to do much less in less time. Nothing more wrong! Achieving a state of balance is very important and has a number of benefits for both employees and employers:

• Productivity increase. It turns out that a greater number of hours worked does not herald a greater number or quality of completed tasks. A more rested, relaxed and satisfied employee is able to do much more or better in less time, while maintaining their full level of creativity, concentration and motivation. Currently, more and more foreign companies decide on a 6-hour daily working time.
• Improvement of mental and physical condition. People who manage to maintain a work-life balance are happier, healthier and experience less stress. As a result, their well-being is much better.
• Increased job satisfaction and commitment related to the improvement of working conditions. People who do not bring problems and tasks from work home enjoy their professional life more. They have much less absenteeism, they feel safe, they are not afraid of losing their job. They are more loyal to their employer and more likely to align their goals with those of the company. They like their job and don’t want to change it. Lower employee turnover means lower costs related to recruitment, adaptation and training of new people to the team. Stabilization of employment is a plus for both the employee and the employer.
• Opportunity for personal development and pursuit of your interests. An employee who achieves harmony does not focus only on professional duties and has time for himself. Thanks to this, after work, he can develop his passions and interests, acquire new knowledge and skills, which increases the level of satisfaction with himself and with life. The personal development of employees is also in the interest of their superiors. Happiness and self-actualization also affect the number and frequency of conflicts, both in the family and in the workplace.
• Increased customer satisfaction. Satisfied employees with greater care and diligence apply to perform their duties and take care of the needs of their clients. As a result, customers are more satisfied with the products and services provided.
• Improvement of the image and reputation of the employer. Employers who care about the needs of their subordinates are rated much higher and recommended more often. Thanks to this, it is easier for them to find and retain the best specialists with appropriate qualifications and skills.

Even if we really like our job and have a really exciting profession, let’s make sure that work does not overshadow other important areas of our lives. Let’s find time to build family and social relationships, entertainment, relaxation and rest. After all, we are not a machine to work and earn money. Thanks to the proper distribution of our forces between the various spheres of our lives, we can achieve a state of well-being and happiness.

Source:https://www.talkandsolve.pl/aktualnosci/work-life-balance,255.html

Supported by Norway through Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Social Dialogue – Decent Work”.