Why Work-Life Balance Is So Important?

• #Career

According to Statista.com, one of the largest statistics portals, in every Europe country, at least 40% of the workforce in 2021 experienced burnout while in some countries like Poland the percentage of people who experienced burnout is as high as 66%. Combining these statistics with Randstad Employer Brand Research 2021 Global results, work, and life balance became as important as the salary when choosing the employer to work for – 58% of respondents mentioned that work-life balance is one of the top priorities when evaluating an employer, and choosing the workplace. But what is the term’s meaning and how does it affect the whole workforce and work results?

Work-life balance is described as effective time management for employees from the employers’ side, leaving enough time to manage current tasks during working hours and ensuring that the employee can calmly enjoy his free time without having to worry about work after work. While some managers see it as a personal employee’s responsibility, others try to help by offering programs, apps, and planning tools for employees or providing more flexible schedules for employees to feel less pressure and to do things when they feel most productive which can be different for everyone. Reasons why both, employees and employers should start paying attention to work-life balance:

• Decreasing severe health problems. The United States is known as one of the top countries in the world where work-life balance is a massive issue. According to American Public Health Association, workplace stress is ranked as 5th biggest cause of death in the United States.

• Mental health. Having some time to recharge, spend time with your family and friends, and make time to do the leisure activities that you enjoy can decrease stress levels and therefore be great prevention for mental health issues and have more motivation at work, and the ability to offer some new ideas.

• Physical health. Having a work-life balance also means having time to properly take care of your physical health and main needs by having healthy sleep habits, eating nutrient-rich food, having time to exercise, and reducing sugar and alcohol intake to boost that dopamine after an exhausting day at work.

• Being present at work and home. This means not physical, but mostly as we say “staying in your head” or “zoning out” due to lack of time for personal issues. Ironically, lots of times lacking work-life balance means thinking about work at home and then doing the opposite while being at work, worrying that we don’t spare enough time for our personal lives, solving personal issues in our heads instead of concentrating on work tasks. Having balance means being able to kind of “turn the switch” according to what we need to concentrate on right now.

• Personal relationships. Having a good work-life balance means having enough time to spend with the ones we love and appreciate, therefore creating a stronger bond with family, and friends and decreasing feelings of isolation or loneliness. As we are social creatures, personal relationships play important role in our well-being, and without having the necessary support, from people outside of work that we can turn to, we can become irritable, depressed, or closed off.

• Better work results. Work-life balance leads to the one most important thing for employers – good work results and productive employees who are ready to move mountains and offer new, innovative ways to improve company work.

• Creative thinking. Now you might think it is important only for those roles where people must do creative tasks, but in fact, every employee that has original and new ideas to offer is a real treasure to the company. People who feel less stressed and have time not only to perform but also to explore, are those who can offer your company a new perspective. After all, how can one offer something new while barely having enough time to do routine work?

We sure hope these insights will help you to understand the meaning and impact of work-life balance not only for a person solely but for the whole company itself. Hardworking people are of course wonderful things to have for the company, but the key to success is not about dedicating your 100% wake time to work but knowing when to rest and when to stop as well to keep on going with the same energy.