Work Life Balance

October 20, 2017 | By Caroline Robertson, Vitil

Work-life Balance! A hot topic in the Human Resource Services sector in Perth. But is there such a thing and if so, how do we achieve that? Perhaps you have this now and can share your insights with us.

Work-life balance has been talked about since the 1970s and something we as individuals and as successful Perth businesses, strive to achieve but there is also a new kid on the block called Blending. In their new book, Chaos to Calm, wellness educators Shannah Kennedy and Lyndall Mitchell argue that 'balance' may not be possible, but 'blending' the various aspects of our lives is. Blending is about flowing and making sure we don't completely drop anything. It is about blending it all together. (Sydney Morning Herald article).

For Human Resource Services professionals and business owners, some tips for better blending are as follows:

Check the news and social media only in the morning and evening and only for 10 minutes.
Keep your phone out of the bedroom. This ensures you cannot check your emails, which means you shall sleep better. Have an alarm clock.
Have a to-do-list for the day but don't just include your work tasks, include all the tasks that you expect to do in the day for example exercise, family time, quiet time.

Work–life balance for Human Resource Services and Perth business owners who are setting the standards, means balancing the priorities between work, your other commitments and activities included in your life. The Health Direct website provides eight tips to help you achieve work-life balance:

1 Know your values

Identify what is important in your life and decide how much time you want to spend on those things. Make time for the things that make you feel glad to be alive, the things that help to provide you with work-life balance.

2 Time management

Strategies such as using a diary and keeping a to-do-list are good ways of managing your time and commitments. Compartmentalising your day and planning ahead are also ways of managing your time and being able to do everything you need to.

3 Boundaries

Set boundaries and limits for work. Leave work on time, switch off your phone and don't check emails. Following these strategies will allow you to be fully present in the other areas of your life and feel free to enjoy these. Learn to say no. We cannot be all things to all people and need to put ourselves first. Doing so will help to provide you with work-life balance.

4 Enjoy your work

Enjoy your work, especially as we spend the majority of our lives there. The more passionate we feel about our job and our career, the more we shall enjoy it and excel at it. Time spent in a job we don't enjoy will only be time resented.

5 Consider your finances

It's nice to have nice things but do you really need them? Leading a simpler life helps you to enjoy the simpler things in life and appreciate what you have. It also means that you would need less money, which creates less stress. Work-life balance would naturally improve as there is no constant need to be earning a large salary to maintain a lifestyle that means you can do more but doesn't necessarily make you fulfilled. Happiness comes from within and only once we feel happy internally, will we feel content with who we are and what we have.

6 Relationships

Make the time to spend the time with the most important people in your life. Positive relationships and social support have been identified as building resilience to cope with stress. Doing so will also help to make you feel that you have more work-life balance.

7 Health

It is imperative for Human Resource Services and business owners to maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to reduce stress, anxiety and depression in the workforce. Getting enough sleep and maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime is also essential.

8 Down time

If you are the type that is always on the go and when you do sit down and rest feel you should be doing something? Well don't! It is important to stop and smell the roses and take some time to yourself each week. Doing so will also help to create more work-life balance.

So, what would you choose? Would you choose the work-life balance option that means deciding what is important to you, compartmentalising your day and setting boundaries or, would you choose blending, which means making everything flow and blend together?

Vitil Human Resource Consultants

Vitil's Human Resource Consultants are a boutique HR consulting firm based across Perth, who offer flexible, reliable and affordable outsourced human resource support and recruitment services, where your team is the key focus. By outsourcing HR to an expert in Human Resource Services, our experienced professionals can objectively assess your environment, your human capital needs, and ensure you recruit to further develop your businesses performance.

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