Improving Your Work/Life Balance: A Practical Guide

By Sorin Dumitrascu

People with a healthy work/life balance are satisfied with their work and home lives and can fulfill their multiple responsibilities at home, work, and in the community without guilt or regret. They're healthy physically, emotionally, and socially, have a sense of control over their life, and feel that the decisions they make are informed choices as opposed to forced sacrifices. In this course, you'll learn about how to detect imbalances between home and work and how to achieve a healthy work/life balance.

If you're one of the lucky people who has achieved a good work/life balance, you know you can't just rest on your laurels. Maintaining that balance takes constant vigilance. You still need to defend yourself from any potential threats – that is, demands from other people, new responsibilities, and other changes that may affect your life balance. In this course you'll learn about simplifying your life to maintain balance, communicating assertively to set your limits, and reframing expectations to maintain balance.

Stress is an inevitable part of work life. Looming deadlines, personality conflicts, and ever-expanding to-do lists are often out of your control and can end up leaving you burned out. But you can control your reaction to the causes of stress. In this course, you'll learn about the health impacts of stress, the characteristics of burnout, as well as ways of coping with stress. You'll also explore a model for identifying and managing irrational thoughts related to stressful events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Nov 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201045890

Book preview

Taking Stock of Your Work/Life Balance

People with a healthy work/life balance are satisfied with their work and home lives and can fulfill their multiple responsibilities at home, work, and in the community without guilt or regret. They're healthy physically, emotionally, and socially, have a sense of control over their life, and feel that the decisions they make are informed choices as opposed to forced sacrifices. In this course, you'll learn about how to detect imbalances between home and work and how to achieve a healthy work/life balance.

Managing a Balancing Act

1. When the Balance Shifts

2. The Benefits that Come from Being in Balance

3. How Is Your Work/Life Balance?

4. The Battle between Your Work and Private Life

5. The Barriers that Make Change Difficult

6. Overcoming External Obstacles

When the Balance Shifts

Companies are increasingly concerned with the work/life balance of their employees, because happier employees perform better overall. Many people now realize that working longer hours doesn't necessarily mean being more productive.

Severe imbalances between home and work typically show up in common areas. You might recognize some of the symptoms of being out of balance.

Do you sometimes find yourself dealing with overdue warnings for bills you didn't even realize you'd received? Not opening your mail immediately can be a sign that you're neglecting to manage your day to day life.

When did you last speak to family members? Do you routinely turn down invitations from friends? A work/life imbalance can result in you isolating yourself from family and friends.

Have you forgotten any family birthdays or missed important appointments? Forgetting important or meaningful dates and commitments is a symptom of a work/life imbalance.

Do you react rashly, or too late, to problems that arise? Responding reactively, rather than taking proactive measures to head off a problem, is a symptom that your work/life balance is slipping.

Do you feel as if you've been stumbling from one illness to another? When was the last time you visited the gym? Neglecting your health is a strong indicator that your work and home life are out of balance.

If you exhibit any of these symptoms, you're right to be concerned. Assessing your current work/life balance will allow you to make some improvements, if necessary. This can help you find more time for your hobbies, family, and friends