Life On A Tightrope:
Work-Life Balance
Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
Gone are the days when
you can stroll in to
office at 9am and still
leave punctually at 5pm
for dinner at home.
The definition of work
has evolved over the
years as the economy and
society changed.
Work has become a huge
part of our identity.
And people are working
longer and harder to
survive in the corporate
world. Many feel
obliged to claim that
they are busy at work to
prove that they are
gainfully employed.
It is a common sight to
be seen working overtime
and even insane hours in
order to vie for the
next promotion or for a
positive performance
appraisal.
Business leaders are
heading the pack when it
comes to working long
hours, with the average
putting in 54 hour work
weeks according to an
international business
report in 2007.
Hardworking vs. Hard
Working
The world is changing
and so has our work
boundaries. These
changes have shifted our
world and blurred the
lines between work and
our life beyond the
office.
Global Competition
You are pressurised to
put in longer hours and
be more productive in
order to protect your
job against foreign
imports from a global
labour market and
outsourcing to reduce
labour costs.
International
Business
Work continues round the
clock for some,
especially if you work
in or with an
international
organisation. You
might be on call 24/7 to
handle problems or
provide consultancy
services.
Advanced Communication
Technology
With the growth of
communication technology
in the forms of mobile
phones and highly
portable laptops, you
can work anywhere - from
your home, from your car
and even on a vacation.
What's worse, some
managers expect it.
Longer Hours
Employers are expecting
their staff to work
longer hours than
they're scheduled.
Often, overtime is
mandatory. If you
hope to move up the
career ladder, you may
find yourself regularly
working more than 44
hours a week to achieve
and exceed expectations.
Changes In Family Roles
Today's married worker
is typically part of a
dual-career couple,
which makes it difficult
to find time to meet
commitments to family,
friends and community
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Married To Your Work
So, are you married to
your work? Are you
constantly thinking
about your work even
when you are away from
it? According to
Dr Danny Ng, Consultant
Psychologist at
Raffles Counselling
Centre, there are
three main reasons why
work-life balance is
important.
Firstly, it helps us to
maintain some level of
optimum performance in
our work and family
life, as taking “breaks”
to concentrate on
another aspect of life
will break the stress
and monotony of our task
and responsibilities.
Secondly, it allows for
time to process, think
and reflect on the
various aspects of our
lives. This assist
us in maintaining a
emotional equilibrium in
the way we manage our
situation, especially
stressful ones.
Finally, it offers
outlets for us to
channel different
energies and expertise,
and play different roles
in different capacities.
This allows for the
growth of the individual
as the range of
functions will result in
our learning of adaptive
skills to manage
different scenarios and
different personalities.
“Poor balance will
likely result in poor
management of the
situations,” explained
Dr Ng. For
instance, a common
problem will be a person
(normally the male) who
spend too much time in
his professional work at
the expense of family
time or even neglect his
own health and
well-being. Over time,
this will result in
health risks and/or
family problems such as
resentfulness and poor
discipline of the
children.
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Striking A Balance
Here are some ways by
which you can juggle
your work and after work
life.
Keep A Log:
Track what you do for a
week. Include in
the records work and
non-work related
activities. From
the list, evaluate the
activities and determine
what are necessary and
what satisfies you most.
Eliminate or delegate
activities you don’t
enjoy or don’t have time
for.
Consider Flexi-hours:
Check with your employer
to see if they are able
to offer you more
flexible hours, a
compressed workweek,
job-sharing or
telecommuting.
Having this flexibility
may help reduce the
stress you are
experiencing and free up
some time.
Learn To Say No:
Remember, it is
perfectly okay to
respectfully decline a
request for help from
your colleagues or your
child’s teacher.
By giving up the things
you do out of guilt or a
false sense of
obligation, you can then
focus on the activities
in your life that are
more fulfilling and
gives you happiness.
Leave Work At Work:
With the blurring of the
boundaries between work
and personal time due to
growing technology, we
need to consciously
create clear lines to
demarcate these areas.
When you are spending
time with your family,
for instance, switch off
your mobile phone and
resist the temptation to
check your office email.
Time Management:
Spending time to keep
your tasks in order can
help you improve your
efficiency. Run
your errands in batches
and split up your
laundry into smaller
quantities rather than
to save them all until
your off day. Set
a family calendar for
important dates and
daily to-do lists to
avoid last minute panic
attacks.
Outsource Chores:
You need not do
everything perfectly or
on your own. An
unmade bed or the
occasional sink of dirty
dishes would not impact
your quality of life.
Learn to let go.
If you can afford,
consider engaging a
part-time cleaner to
clean your house.
Self Care:
Take time off each day
for an activity that you
enjoy. These can
be strolls, exercise,
listening to music or
watching your favourite
TV programme. Unwind
after your work with a
book, yoga or a long
bath.
Set And Protect Time
For Recreation:
You should build in your
schedule time for
non-work related
activities, says Dr Ng.
You should also
judiciously guard these
times and not allow
spillovers in your
planning. For
instance, if you have
blocked off weekends for
the family, ensure that
you do not carry work
home over the weekends
so that your family can
enjoy the commitment of
your time to them.
Bolster Support
System: A
strong support system in
the form of a trusted
friend or co-worker to
talk to during stressful
times is a valuable
asset. Ensure you
have friends and family
who can help you when
you need to work
overtime or travel for
work.
Seek Professional
Help: Should
you feel your life
getting too chaotic to
manage, get help from
the professionals - your
doctor, psychologist or
a counsellor from your
employee assistance
programme (EAP).
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Employee Assistance
Programmes
EAP services are usually
free and confidential.
Be it work, marital or
any other issues, your
EAP counsellor can help
you overcome them.
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Are You Taking Your Job
Home with You?
It’s bad enough when you
take work home so that
the family is deprived
of your love and
attention. But
what is even more
damaging, is when you
take your job home in
the form of stress,
tension, irritability
and moodiness. If you
value your family, you
will be honest and
carefully review whether
or not, and to what
extent, you leave your
work at the office, or
take the worries of the
job home with you. Here
are some questions that
will help you explore
whether your job is
hurting your family.
|
Never
= 0
|
Sometimes
= 1 |
Often
= 2 |
|
|
|
SCORE |
|
1.
|
Does the family break into conflict involving you the moment you come home from work? |
|
|
2.
|
Do you resent or have unpleasant feelings about having to go home after work? |
|
|
3.
|
Would your spouse say (even if you don’t agree) that you don’t spend enough time with the family? |
|
|
4.
|
Do you and your spouse have an ongoing disagreement or argument over some aspect of your work? |
|
|
5.
|
Do you tend to want to talk a lot at home about problems at work? |
|
|
6.
|
Are you impatient at home when family members want to share about their day? |
|
|
7.
|
Do you lack friends with whom you can share problems or talk about things that bother you? |
|
|
8.
|
Do you feel frustrated or angry about how bad things are at work, or because colleagues or management won’t listen to your suggestions? |
|
|
9.
|
Do you find it difficult to relax at home after a hard day’s work because here is too much distraction, noise or interruption or because you feel too angry or down? |
|
|
10.
|
When you come home, do you feel that your family doesn’t care what sort of day you have had and that they do not want to hear about it? |
|
|
11.
|
Do you continue to think about your job for quite a while after coming home? |
|
|
12.
|
Do you find yourself backing out of your family activities for no real reason, or that your family says that it is not an adequate reason? |
|
|
HOW
DID
YOU
DO?
Score
below
5
You
are
in
good
shape.
Once
or
twice
every
few
months
you
come
home
from
work:
frustrated
or
angry
but
you
get
over
it
quickly
and
it
doesn’t
affect
your
family.
Score
6 -
12
You
may
need
to
take
a
look
at
how
and
why
you
are
taking
the
emotional
consequences
of
your
job
home
with
you.
Your
patterns
of
behaviours
and/or
moods
are
beginning
to
affect
your
family
relationships.
Hold
a
family
conference.
Ask
everyone
to
be
honest
and
tell
you
if
you
are
not
keeping
the
unpleasant
effects
of
your
job
at
work.
Score
over
12
You
need
to
get
some
help.
You
are
out
of
control.
Your
job
is
harming
your
family.
You
need
to
learn
how
to
keep
your
problems
at
work
or
find
another
job.
Your
family
deserves
better
than
to
be
saddled
with
the
worries
and
problems
of
your
job.
|
|
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Article contributed by:
Raffles Medical Group
Dated: May 2011
|
Raffles
Medical
Group is
a leading
medical
group and
the largest
private
group
practice in
Singapore.
As a fully
integrated
healthcare
organisation,
the Group
owns and
operates a
network of
family
medicine
clinics, a
tertiary
care private
hospital,
insurance
services and
a consumer
healthcare
division.
Patients of
the Group
enjoy a
continuum of
care, from
having their
most basic
healthcare
needs met
through the
Group’s
islandwide
network of
Raffles
Medical
clinics, to
specialist
and tertiary
care at
Raffles
Hospital. |
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