Oh I need a rest day…ever said this to yourself? Now if you had you wouldn’t be here right! Understanding the meaning of work life balance is as important as understanding basic life skills. You don’t want to wake up one day and wonder how and where 70 years of your life went by. The day you will understand the true meaning of work life balance is the day you will start living life.

What is the meaning of work life balance?

Work life balance is prioritising your personal and professional life both according to the needs and circumstances.

But you have to make sure you prioritise both of them. The meetings you think are necessary to finish over the weekend might not be as necessary as taking a well deserved break. It all comes down to consciously making a choice.

Sure there will be times when you just can’t put off work and you have to work extra hours but it shouldn’t be the case always.

The importance of work life balance

Maintaining a healthy work life balance is as important for employees and employers both. And here’s why.

1. Less health problems

The stress that comes along with work pressure can impact your mental health and thus your physical health.

That is why they say work for a job you love and you would never have to work a day in your life. I know it is as dreamy as it sounds, it is actually possible. Just need a bit of self confidence and determination.

A study conducted by UCL of more than 10,000 participants stated that white-collar workers who worked three or more hours longer than required had a 60% higher risk of heart-related problems than those who didn’t work overtime.

Anyway coming to the importance of work life balance, the better you are at maintaining a healthy work life balance the better physical and mental health you will be having.

2. Better productivity

You must have noticed that your productivity sees a steep rise when you are healthy and fresh and motivated to work. The quality and quantity , both of our work declines as tired we become.

For your employees to give their best, they need to have a healthy work life balance where work isn’t consuming their entire life and they get recharged every now and then.

3. Enhanced engagement

More engaged employees will help build a strong sustainable business.

According to Tower Perrin’s global survey; “Companies with highly-engaged employees had a near 52% gap in performance improvement in operating income.” Additionally – “Companies with high levels of employee engagement improved 19.2% in operating income while companies with low levels of employee engagement declined 32.7%.”

Also it is seen that engaged employees are more loyal and will be willing to work extra hours when needed.

4. Better focus

When everyone at work is overwhelmed and stressed about the impending deadlines, they are obviously going to loose focus.

When we are focused, our ability to concentrate is much better and we complete more tasks in lesser time which is called being efficient.

The tasks you were completing in 4 hours can now be completed in 2 hours. So you get extra 2 hours for yourself. So you see the number of yours you could actually save by having a healthy work life balance.

5. Better relationships

With more time on your hands, you will be able to spend quality time with your loved ones. When your personal relationships are good, you are more likely to have good healthy professional relationships. The boss doesn’t always have to be a boss. Your coworkers can actually be your friends if you are in a good mood.

Let’s aim at becoming a boss every employee would want to work for.

Conclusion

Just to wrap it up, achieving a healthy work life balance is not an overnight task. It would require continuous conscious efforts to achieve the well deserved balance between your personal life and professional work.

So I hope you understand the meaning of work life balance now. Now take a breath and prioritise. Also learn to say no.