Contents
- 1 What is Work-life Balance?
- 2 Why Is Worklife Balance Important?
- 3 10 Reasons Why Work-Life Balance Is Important
- 3.1 1: Reduces Stress Level
- 3.2 2: Enhances Your Mental Health
- 3.3 3: Promotes Better Physical Health
- 3.4 4: Improves Your Ability to Be Present
- 3.5 5: Improves Your Relationships
- 3.6 6: Increases Engagement At Work
- 3.7 7: Improves Creative Thinking
- 3.8 8: Makes You More Productive
- 3.9 9: Brings Happiness and Fulfillment
- 3.10 10: Brings Higher Levels of Success
- 4 A Word from Mantra Care
What is Work-life Balance?
Achieving a work-life balance is important for all of us. Balancing your responsibilities and finding a way to get everything done without feeling stressed or tired can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of achieving work-life balance, what factors cause imbalance, and how you can find that perfect balance in your life.
When we think about work-life balance, we should make sure that we do not spend too much time at work and not enough time on the rest of life. We should try to equalize how much time we spend on each side.
That is why time management, productivity hacks, and flexible work schedules are all so important. There is just one problem that is time. You can’t solve it like when you balance two things on a see-saw. That’s because your work and your life are not the same things (even though they always seem to be). That’s why you’ll never find balance in your life if you don’t fix the time problem.
The good news is that you can stop worrying about time. You can stop thinking of time as a see-saw.
Why Is Worklife Balance Important?
When we talk about the importance of work-life balance, it is for a lot of people. It is not only for women. People think it’s mostly for women, but it’s not. But that’s not true. Men care about balancing their lives too.
Men and women both value balance. They just use different words to talk about it.
Women and men talk about different things. Women like to talk about balance and how they live life. Men like to talk about having time for their priorities and making an impact in different places, like at work or in their family’s life. Balance is a good thing for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a woman or a man.
10 Reasons Why Work-Life Balance Is Important
Now that we are clear about what work-life balance is, let’s look at the most important reasons why it is important.
1: Reduces Stress Level
Workplace stress is the fifth biggest cause of death in America. Twenty-five percent of Americans think that their job is the main source of stress in their life. The problem with this is that people think they have no choice about it, but there are other ways to make money and find jobs.
Balance in your life is created when you make choices. You’re making yourself stressed. By agreeing to take on more work when you don’t have the capacity or by not delegating work that could be delegated, you’re making it worse.
You have 2 choices. You could start making them for yourself to relieve stress and anxiety:
- Don’t say yes to things that aren’t important.
- Delegate as much as you can, and do not worry.
- You need to choose what is important and do it. And don’t do other things.
- It is important to take care of yourself.
When you have a job, you will work hard. It can be very tiring. But when you stop, there will be less work and more playtime. You will feel less stressed and more relaxed.
2: Enhances Your Mental Health
One of the reasons for the importance of work-life balance has to do with your mental health. When you are balanced, then you are better able to deal with negative feelings and thoughts that come up.
When people are stressed and under pressure all the time, their brains can’t work well.
If you want to be calm, you should create more balance in your life. Your thoughts will be clearer and you’ll have time to think about it.
That will help you to better understand your thoughts. It will help you know what you are feeling. It will also make it easier to deal with your feelings, instead of letting them stay pent up inside, waiting to blow up at the wrong time.
You will want to get a copy of 5-Minute Stress Solutions. This book is not just about stress relief but also about helping you create a more resilient mind and better understand your thoughts and emotions. It can help your mindset to have a balanced life.
3: Promotes Better Physical Health
You need balance in your life. This includes taking care of your body. Eat healthy foods, exercise, and get enough sleep:
- Eating healthy meals means you will stay healthier. Eating healthy food is good for your body and it makes you stronger.
- Reduce your sugar and alcohol intake.
- A person needs to have healthy sleep habits for their body. If they don’t, then their body will not be at their best.
- Exercise is good for you. It makes your body strong and healthy.
But there is more to it than that. How you live and work will make things worse for your body. It is a problem for society, not just for you.
A person with a demanding job might have problems. It can be hard to work and also do other things. Sometimes people need time for themselves.
If you are like most professionals, then you work most of the day and sit on the couch at night. You might be tired and stressed. And maybe you drink a glass or two of wine to help take the edge off.
That means that you are not walking outside, you are sitting down a lot, and you drink alcohol. This is not healthy for your body. The truth is that we are not meant to sit all the time. We need to be outside and moving. The best thing you can do is to go outside and move.
4: Improves Your Ability to Be Present
I hear that people don’t want to be in two places at the same time. That means they won’t be at home or work.
- Your mind seems busy with all the thoughts that are racing in it. It can be hard to tell which are important.
- People always think about work when they are with family and friends. They are checking it all the time.
- When you are working, worry about work. Don’t think about things that are happening in your personal life. Your work is more important than anything else.
The good news is that your brain can be trained to be more present and calm. This happens through practice on specific mindfulness practices. That’s how you create a balanced life.
Mindfulness creates you feel calm and happy. Mindful awareness will make you be:
- People are more attuned to other people’s emotions and feelings.
- Being better at responding to people will make you closer to family, friends, and others.
- Aware of the good around you (and not just focused on the bad);
5: Improves Your Relationships
Working too much means that you get less time with your friends or family. It can be difficult to give them your full attention when you are tired.
A balanced lifestyle means you will have more time with your family and friends. You can do things together that are fun. You will be happier, and so will the people around you.
Doing good things will make other people happy. They will feel better and so you should too.
People are too busy these days. They are not relating to other people enough. This is because they are spending too much time with technology and not being in touch with other people enough.
A balanced lifestyle means being close to other people, not just family members. You will have a better job and more purpose.
6: Increases Engagement At Work
When employees are happy and feel motivated by their job, they’re more likely to be loyal. This is because they feel like they are committed to the work that they do. They also want to do their best so that it shows how much they care about what is happening. Employees who are engaged care about their work and like it.
Falsely, many employers think that they can create engagement by using pressure or incentives. Although this might work for a little while, it leads to stress and anxiety and people do not like it.
An employee who doesn’t work hard is not happy. They might be stressed and mentally or physically not healthy. That’s why they have to feel connected to other people at work.
When you do more work, it makes people happy. People are more accountable when they are doing more work. When people are working, they always talk to each other.
7: Improves Creative Thinking
I mentioned this before, but it needs to be said again: your brain needs space to think. It is not meant to be constantly bombarded by people, social media, email, phone calls, and texts. Open up space for clear, creative thinking.
Sometimes you can’t find the answer to a problem. But when you stop thinking about it, another answer will come. This is like what happens with the sheer importance of work-life balance. If you do too much work then your life won’t be balanced and something bad will happen.
When you are stressed, overwhelmed, and/or anxious, you cannot think of new ideas. But with balance comes clear thinking. And that means better work too!
For help with creating space to think, download 5-Minute Stress Solutions. This has strategies to help you retrain your mind to be more present and focused.
8: Makes You More Productive
Most people want to be more productive. My clients often say they want this outcome from coaching.
Many people think that they can get a lot of benefits from a time management strategy or productivity hack. But this is not true. Once you learn how to use the basic formulas for productivity and time management, new strategies will not make a difference.
The thing that will make you more productive is to have a better work-life balance. When you exercise, you will feel better and be more focused. You will be more creative and think clearer. You will also want to work hard because you’ve exercised.
What that means is that if you have a balanced life, then you will be more likely to do well at work or in school. If you do not have a balanced life and only focus on one thing, then it might be hard for you to perform at your best levels.
9: Brings Happiness and Fulfillment
Balance is important. It makes you feel good and in control of your life. This will help you to be happy and to make your life more meaningful.
Think about the reasons listed above about why the importance of work-life balance should be noted. It will make you feel more positive, happy, and fulfilled.
10: Brings Higher Levels of Success
Work hard and be successful. You can have a work-life balance and be even more successful.
Balance does work for those who want to be successful. But people have a misconception that it means getting less of something. Balance is about success on your terms, and it means getting what you want from life by:
- Make sure to first prioritize what is most important to you. Then you can focus on it
- When you take care of yourself, you can help others better, and
- You are in control of your life.
Success is when you have a lot of things. It is good to have a work/life balance because it makes you smarter, more creative, and more productive. This means you will be able to be successful in both your personal and professional life.
A Word from Mantra Care
All the reasons why the importance of work-life balance should be ensured are helpful for people to start creating a healthy balance between their jobs and other parts of their lives.
You need to start living a balanced life. You can control the things you can and let go of the things you cannot. Start by looking after your mind. Building a less stressed and healthy mindset is the foundation for this new life:
- non-priorities are things that are not important. You can get rid of them.
- Build a good boundary.
- If you prioritize well, then you can do things that are important.
- Be more present so you can enjoy what is happening.
- You can use the space in your brain to think creatively. That helps you know what is important to you.
Do you want to keep your employees happy, healthy, and productive? Join our employee assistance program and get a healthier workplace.