Introduction
Choosing what kind of job to take is perhaps the most challenging task that everyone faces. Numerous college students have found themselves being victims of wrong decision-making as far as this choice is concerned. Specialists are usually attracted to monetary benefits, failing to consider other important aspects of jobs like non-monetary advantages.
These benefits include the number of hours that a person is expected to commit to the job. However, only the employee themselves determines their work-life balance. This essay explores this issue in particular.
The more time passes, the harder it becomes to consider options regarding the hours spent at the workplace. So, the sooner people realize the importance of work-life balance, the easier it will get to deal with any problem.
In this essay on work-life balance, the author examines its importance and provides tips on how the balance can be achieved.
Importance of work-life balance
Work-life balance can be defined as arrangements made by employers to enable their employees to live full lives. This implies that as much as they will be giving their best to the job, the employees will be having a chance to do other things in their lives. Work-life balance is a very important aspect of any working environment. Among its advantages is the fact that employees are more motivated to perform their duties since they do not get overworked. This is advantageous to both the employers and the employees.
The employees benefit in that they develop healthy relationships with their employers and at the same time they get time to build non-professional aspects of their lives. This way, they are able to develop their careers positively and engage in productive activities as they build their careers. On the other hand, employers are able to achieve greater productivity of their firms since employees are greatly motivated to work.
Employees give their best to the job due to the motivation and thus quality and greater volume of production is guaranteed (Clayton, 2005, p. 27). The employers also benefit in other ways since the benefits they give to their employees enable them to gain good publicity that attracts more productive workers and more customers if the firm is in the hospitality industry.
From the above discussion, it is apparent that work-life balance is of utmost importance in organizations. Firms should therefore know how to appropriately establish appropriate measures in order to enable their employees live a full life. On the other hand, employees should strive to live a balanced life even in conditions that are seemingly unfavourable. The following paragraphs explore how employees and employers can achieve work-life balance.
Strategies for attaining work-life balance
Even though the relationship between a person’s professional life and his/her personal life is indubitably rich, it may prove to be tricky to attain and keep a healthy work-life balance. The following are some of the strategies that employees can use to live a full life. First of all, it is of utmost importance for an employee or employer to keep calm in challenging situations.
For instance, if a person is experiencing personal problems like problems of marriage, he/she should ensure that the same does not affect his/her professional life. If the person is an employer, he/she should not, for instance, fire an employee due to his/her personal problems. On the other hand, an employee should ensure that he/she does not let his/her personal life affect his/her professional performance.
For instance, if the employee is experiencing family problems, he/she should maintain the same level of performance as when he/she does not have such problems (Gordon, 2003, p. 1). Likewise, stress in the workplace should not affect the personal lives of the employees. An employee should ensure that they live their personal lives to the fullest while ignoring any problems that may have occurred in the working environment.
An employee should also ensure that he/she engages in important bodily activities in order to live a well balanced life. He/she should thus engage in physical activities and ensure that he/she sleeps and eats well.
It is thus apparent that any job that gives an employee time to engage in the aforementioned activities can be considered to be offering work-life balance. It is also important for the employee to set boundaries for both professional and personal activities. This will ensure that both lives do not clash (Clutterbuck, 2003, p. 112). This way, the employee will be able to achieve enviably in both realms of life.
Conclusion
As evidenced in the discussion above, work-life balance is a very important determinant of professional performance. It is thus of essence for employers to ensure that they give their employees adequate time to engage in personal activities. On the other hand, employees should ensure that they use the free time they are given by their employers wisely.
They should ensure that they engage in productive personal activities and at the same time avoid taking their professional problems home. It is thus of essence that people evaluate prospective employers keenly to make wise choices as they choose between jobs. This will ensure that they do not take jobs and regret later.
Reference List
Clayton, D. (2005). The Work-life Balance Program. University of California.
Clutterbuck, D. (2003). Managing the Work-Life Balance. Journal of Management, pp. 101-120.
Gordon, M. (2003). 9 Strategies For Regaining Your Work Life Balance. Web.