In today's fast-pace world, the concept of work-life balance has become a crucial topic of discussion. Work-life balance refers to the symmetry between the time and energy one dedicates to work and the time spent on personal life activities. With the increasing demands of today's work culture, the boundaries between work and personal life seems to have blurred and most of us are burned out without even realising it. What most of us fail to realise is that having a harmonious balance between personal life and professional life is not just a luxury, but is a necessity for one's mental and physical health.
Most companies expect their employees to dedicate all of their time to their work. Respecting personal time and space is quite rare in companies, especially in larger companies. "I try to finish my work at the office on most days, but there are times when work follows me home and that often has an effect on my personal life, but that is the work culture and I have come to terms with it." said a senior manager at an MNC.
While technology has made our lives and jobs easier, it has also made it difficult to disconnect from work. This means most people end up bringing work home, which hampers their time with friends or family. An employee working at a startup said "There are no fixed hours for us. We work till the tasks are done. There are days when I leave the office at 2AM and do not even get to see my family. Even when I am home, I have to attend online meetings and work till late hours on weekends."
However, there are some people who prefer to work longer hours and do it by choice. Some professions even require a person to be on-call 24/7 as a lot depends on them. "As a doctor working in a medical college, work never ends. From taking classes to seeing patients to checking papers and then having a private practice in the evenings, family life or time with friends is very difficult to manage. But it is a choice that I made and I am happy with it," explained Dr Firdous Quader, Associate Professor in a prestigious medical college.
As more people are now understanding the importance of having a decent work-life balance, more companies are also trying to implement a healthier working culture in their systems. An ex-researcher at a private university said, "If there was a fixed deadline then we had to work longer hours but generally, I'd say a healthy working environment was maintained and I had enough time for my personal life as well." Netherlands actually have four-day work weeks and Japan is considering implementing four-day work weeks as well. These changes will hopefully have a greater impact in the working environment globally and will help and promote a healthier work-life balance for everyone. It is important to remember and acknowledge that to give one's 100 per cent at work, they must have a decent social and family life as well, having enough time to themselves.
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