Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that.
Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement.
There is no perfect, one-size fits all, balance you should be striving for. The best work-life balance is different for each of us because we all have different priorities and different lives.
However, at the core of an effective work-life balance definition are two key everyday concepts that are relevant to each of us. They are daily
Achievement and Enjoyment, ideas almost deceptive in their simplicity.
Engraining a fuller meaning of these two concepts takes us most of the way to defining a positive Work-Life Balance. Achievement and Enjoyment answer the big question "Why?" Why do you want a better income…a new house…the kids through college…to do a good job today…to come to work at all?
Most of us already have a good grasp on the meaning of Achievement. But let's explore the concept of Enjoyment a little more. As part of a relevant Work-Life Balance definition, enjoyment does not just mean "Ha-Ha" happiness. It means Pride, Satisfaction, Happiness, Celebration, Love, A Sense of Well Being …all the Joys of Living.
Achievement and Enjoyment are the front and back of the coin of value in life. You can't have one without the other, no more than you can have a coin with only one side. Trying to live a one sided life is why so many "Successful" people are not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.
You cannot get the full value from life without BOTH Achievement and Enjoyment. Focusing on Achievement and Enjoyment every day in life helps you avoid the "As Soon As Trap", the life dulling habit of planning on getting around to the joys of life and accomplishment "as soon as…."
Some philosophical guy bumps into me, and says…. "Heh mister… what's your purpose in life?" Well even in that half-awake condition, I'd have an answer for him. I'd say, "You know, I just want to achieve something today and I want to enjoy something today. And if I do both of those things today, I'm going to have a pretty good day. And if I do both of those things every day, for the rest of my life… I'm going to have a pretty good life."
And I think that's true for all of us. Life will deliver the value and balance we desire …when we are achieving and enjoying something every single day…in all the important areas that make up our lives. As a result, a good working definition of Work-Life Balance is:
Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in each of my four life quadrants: Work, Family, Friends and Self.
Ask yourself now, when was the last time you Achieved AND Enjoyed something at work? What about Achieved AND Enjoyed with your family; your friends? And how recently have you Achieved AND Enjoyed something just for you?
Why not take 20 minutes on the way home from work and do something just for yourself? And when you get home, before you walk in the door, think about whether you want to focus on achieving or enjoying at home tonight. Then act accordingly when you do walk in the door.
At work you can create your own best Work-Life Balance by making sure you not only Achieve, but also reflect the joy of the job, and the joy of life, every day. If nobody pats you on the back today, pat yourself on the back. And help others to do the same.
When you do, when you are a person that not only gets things done, but also enjoys the doing, it attracts people to you. They want you on their team and they want to be on your team.
Simple concepts. And once you focus on them as key components of your day, they are not that hard to implement. So, make it happen, for yourself, your family and all the important individuals you care about…every day for the rest of your life… Achieve and Enjoy.
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)
Amend(0)
Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement.
There is no perfect, one-size fits all, balance you should be striving for. The best work-life balance is different for each of us because we all have different priorities and different lives.
However, at the core of an effective work-life balance definition are two key everyday concepts that are relevant to each of us. They are daily
Achievement and Enjoyment, ideas almost deceptive in their simplicity.
Engraining a fuller meaning of these two concepts takes us most of the way to defining a positive Work-Life Balance. Achievement and Enjoyment answer the big question "Why?" Why do you want a better income…a new house…the kids through college…to do a good job today…to come to work at all?
Most of us already have a good grasp on the meaning of Achievement. But let's explore the concept of Enjoyment a little more. As part of a relevant Work-Life Balance definition, enjoyment does not just mean "Ha-Ha" happiness. It means Pride, Satisfaction, Happiness, Celebration, Love, A Sense of Well Being …all the Joys of Living.
Achievement and Enjoyment are the front and back of the coin of value in life. You can't have one without the other, no more than you can have a coin with only one side. Trying to live a one sided life is why so many "Successful" people are not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.
You cannot get the full value from life without BOTH Achievement and Enjoyment. Focusing on Achievement and Enjoyment every day in life helps you avoid the "As Soon As Trap", the life dulling habit of planning on getting around to the joys of life and accomplishment "as soon as…."
Some philosophical guy bumps into me, and says…. "Heh mister… what's your purpose in life?" Well even in that half-awake condition, I'd have an answer for him. I'd say, "You know, I just want to achieve something today and I want to enjoy something today. And if I do both of those things today, I'm going to have a pretty good day. And if I do both of those things every day, for the rest of my life… I'm going to have a pretty good life."
And I think that's true for all of us. Life will deliver the value and balance we desire …when we are achieving and enjoying something every single day…in all the important areas that make up our lives. As a result, a good working definition of Work-Life Balance is:
Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in each of my four life quadrants: Work, Family, Friends and Self.
Ask yourself now, when was the last time you Achieved AND Enjoyed something at work? What about Achieved AND Enjoyed with your family; your friends? And how recently have you Achieved AND Enjoyed something just for you?
Why not take 20 minutes on the way home from work and do something just for yourself? And when you get home, before you walk in the door, think about whether you want to focus on achieving or enjoying at home tonight. Then act accordingly when you do walk in the door.
At work you can create your own best Work-Life Balance by making sure you not only Achieve, but also reflect the joy of the job, and the joy of life, every day. If nobody pats you on the back today, pat yourself on the back. And help others to do the same.
When you do, when you are a person that not only gets things done, but also enjoys the doing, it attracts people to you. They want you on their team and they want to be on your team.
Simple concepts. And once you focus on them as key components of your day, they are not that hard to implement. So, make it happen, for yourself, your family and all the important individuals you care about…every day for the rest of your life… Achieve and Enjoy.
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Shashi,
Great article.
Do you know of anybody preparing for PHR, a human resources certification? I would like to see if there is any kind of study group in India for that. The certification is administered through SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management).
-Priya Venkatathatham.
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Great article.
Do you know of anybody preparing for PHR, a human resources certification? I would like to see if there is any kind of study group in India for that. The certification is administered through SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management).
-Priya Venkatathatham.
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
This is a bit of a tangent, but it seems like the forum to share it.
If you had to choose between money and living life, what would you choose?
I agree that it's not about equal time, but it's about knowing the time you need. Most companies like to think they address work-life balance by planning company picnics. It's more than that, I think. It's about creating workloads that can be managed by employees.
From personal experience, I know of companies that overload an employee to such an extent that he has to work 12 hours a day just to break even. I know the initial reaction is that everyone thinks their work is the hardest and these days everyone works for 12 hours. However, I have also seen the alternative - organizations that recognize employees should not work, on average, for more than 10 hours. If someone is doing this for over a month or two, it is addressed. That is what I call the true spirit of work-life balance.
I know of companies that grant only 3 days leave in total to an employee who is getting married because they cannot do without him.
I know of companies where employees are compelled to stay beyond 10:00 pm every day, even on days when they do not have work. This happens to be one of the biggest BPOs in Mumbai. Employees leaving on time has become a rare thing - wow.
From my personal opinion, the most significant challenge HR is going to face in the future is organizational cultures that disapprove of employees getting married. Female employees having children are almost considered the death of their professional lives because they need to go home to their children now.
I know more and more people who can't get married because they simply do not have the time. And more and more marriages are strained because the partners are unable to spend time with each other.
I come across more and more people who take lower-paying jobs because they can't even remember their twenties. They do not recall holidays or any time spent other than at work.
Work-life balance is a combination of many things, but what it signifies most is treating your employees as individuals who have responsibilities and who spend their time away from their families. They have wants and needs not solely based on money. Employees need time to do household chores, make insurance investments, handle banking tasks, socialize, rest, pay bills, renewals, etc.
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
1If you had to choose between money and living life, what would you choose?
I agree that it's not about equal time, but it's about knowing the time you need. Most companies like to think they address work-life balance by planning company picnics. It's more than that, I think. It's about creating workloads that can be managed by employees.
From personal experience, I know of companies that overload an employee to such an extent that he has to work 12 hours a day just to break even. I know the initial reaction is that everyone thinks their work is the hardest and these days everyone works for 12 hours. However, I have also seen the alternative - organizations that recognize employees should not work, on average, for more than 10 hours. If someone is doing this for over a month or two, it is addressed. That is what I call the true spirit of work-life balance.
I know of companies that grant only 3 days leave in total to an employee who is getting married because they cannot do without him.
I know of companies where employees are compelled to stay beyond 10:00 pm every day, even on days when they do not have work. This happens to be one of the biggest BPOs in Mumbai. Employees leaving on time has become a rare thing - wow.
From my personal opinion, the most significant challenge HR is going to face in the future is organizational cultures that disapprove of employees getting married. Female employees having children are almost considered the death of their professional lives because they need to go home to their children now.
I know more and more people who can't get married because they simply do not have the time. And more and more marriages are strained because the partners are unable to spend time with each other.
I come across more and more people who take lower-paying jobs because they can't even remember their twenties. They do not recall holidays or any time spent other than at work.
Work-life balance is a combination of many things, but what it signifies most is treating your employees as individuals who have responsibilities and who spend their time away from their families. They have wants and needs not solely based on money. Employees need time to do household chores, make insurance investments, handle banking tasks, socialize, rest, pay bills, renewals, etc.
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Hi Ashu,
Rightly said! In today's age of attrition and all the talk of employee retention, it is imperative for companies to go that extra mile and ensure that their employees are well taken care of.
On the one hand, we have companies that firmly believe that their employees are their biggest assets and take innovative steps to retain them.
On the other hand, we have companies that are obsessed with making more money and are unmindful of their employees, accepting attrition as part and parcel of the trade, and maintaining a constant budget for it.
I firmly believe that one should ponder more on why a person is leaving than on strategizing how to find a replacement.
As days go by, the focus should be on creating a world-class organizational culture that accommodates people of different kinds, caters to their needs and expectations, and provides an ideal platform to showcase their potentials.
Coincidentally, we are in an era where opportunities are aplenty. The lure of money, especially at the junior and middle management levels, ensures that basic attrition levels are maintained throughout the year. Despite a company's best efforts, coping with this challenge can be difficult, and this is where talent engagement plays a vital role.
Thanks for your practical and sensible thoughts, yaar!
Cheers,
Sk
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Rightly said! In today's age of attrition and all the talk of employee retention, it is imperative for companies to go that extra mile and ensure that their employees are well taken care of.
On the one hand, we have companies that firmly believe that their employees are their biggest assets and take innovative steps to retain them.
On the other hand, we have companies that are obsessed with making more money and are unmindful of their employees, accepting attrition as part and parcel of the trade, and maintaining a constant budget for it.
I firmly believe that one should ponder more on why a person is leaving than on strategizing how to find a replacement.
As days go by, the focus should be on creating a world-class organizational culture that accommodates people of different kinds, caters to their needs and expectations, and provides an ideal platform to showcase their potentials.
Coincidentally, we are in an era where opportunities are aplenty. The lure of money, especially at the junior and middle management levels, ensures that basic attrition levels are maintained throughout the year. Despite a company's best efforts, coping with this challenge can be difficult, and this is where talent engagement plays a vital role.
Thanks for your practical and sensible thoughts, yaar!
Cheers,
Sk
From India, Mumbai
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)CiteHR is an AI-augmented HR knowledge and collaboration platform, enabling HR professionals to solve real-world challenges, validate decisions, and stay ahead through collective intelligence and machine-enhanced guidance. Join Our Platform.
WORK LIFE BALANCE.ppt
Work Life Balance.pdf
Questionnaire on work life balance.doc