Understanding the Importance of Work-Life Balance

Posted on: May 11, 2022 | | Written by:

Understanding the Importance of Work-Life Balance

There is no denying that most work environments today are extremely stressful, thanks to impossible deadlines and sky-high expectations. However, stress can have both mental and physical ramifications. Chronic stress can lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, hypertension, and heart problems. Hence, companies are being encouraged to look after the wellbeing of their employees. And the first step toward creating a healthy work environment is promoting work-life balance. It reduces stress and helps in the prevention of burnout, which can otherwise lead to poor work performance. As we celebrate International Labour Day on May 1, let us understand the importance of maintaining a work-life balance for a healthy and happy life. Also make sure you have good health insurance coverage to deal with any emergency.

What is work-life balance?

Often, work-life balance is confused with better time management, so that an employee can properly divide time between work and office. Sometimes, productivity hacks are presented as solutions. However, work-life balance is a mindset where an individual is empowered to easily strike a balance between the demands of one’s career and personal life. The person no longer needs to sacrifice family time or other creative pursuits to do more impactful work in the office. Employees don’t have to miss significant moments like a cousin’s wedding or grandmother’s funeral or son’s fifth birthday party because the work couldn’t be pushed or delegated. One can indulge in self-care without any sense of guilt or apology. Work-life balance demands that you create boundaries for what’s professional and what’s personal. It simply means feeling content and enjoying the work.

What you need to know to create a more balanced lifestyle

To reiterate, work-life balance is a mindset. Unlike the hustle culture where you drop everything to just focus on work, here you understand why work-life balance is crucial. Here, you have more control over your time and schedule, and you can make decisions for growth, but as per your comfort. You get to make tough and courageous choices to become mentally stronger and resilient.

Why work-life balance is important for everyone

Some people think that only millennials want work-life balance or only women seek it. No, the stress of work or burnout is not related to a specific age, designation, or gender. Every individual wants a work culture that respects their personal time. Just like having health insurance is a must for all individuals to deal with medical emergencies, work-life balance is for everyone.

10 reasons why work-life balance is important

1. Work-Life Balance Means Less Stress:

Having health insurance reduces your anxiety during hospitalisation, right? Similarly, the freedom to say ‘No’ to additional work or simply delegate it without any form of retaliation from the boss can be relieving. When work is manageable, stress stays away.

2. Improves Mental Health:

When you find balance in life, you think better. A mind that doesn’t get filled with negative thoughts can make informed decisions in life and develop a positive outlook too.

3. Better Physical Health:

You find the time to exercise, follow a healthy diet, and get a good night’s sleep, instead of sitting at your desk for 12 hours or always feeling exhausted which means, your body changes for the better.

4. Enhances Your Ability to Be Present:

Your body can’t be in two places at one time, but your mind can be. You can be at work and keep thinking about the party you couldn’t go to or be at a family occasion and keep checking your emails. With work-life balance, you can say goodbye to such a cluttered mind and embrace mindfulness.

5. Improves Your Relationships:

It allows you to spend more quality time with your loved ones. When you aren’t ‘too busy’ all the time, you communicate well and easily sort out any differences that may be cropping up. A candle-lit dinner can go a long way in keeping the spark with your partner alive, for example. Such dinner dates should easily fit in your schedule.

6. Increases Engagement at Work:

A happy employee is the most motivated one. When you feel excited about work, you become more productive. A company that takes care of work-life balance automatically increases its employee retention.

7. Increases Creative Thinking:

Any form of creativity demands both time and space. When constantly bugged by people, email, calls, and texts, the brain loses its ability to be clear and more imaginative. In an unhealthy work-life balance, stress takes away the space to think creatively. Only balance can restore it.

8. Makes You More Productive:

Contrary to general belief, conducting sessions on time management strategy or lectures on productivity hacks can’t be successful till there’s proper work-life balance. When you feel better, physically and psychologically, you become more focused.

9. Real Balance Brings Happiness and Fulfilment:

Happiness and fulfilment are a state of mind and a real balance between work and life can help you attain it.

10. Work-Life Balance Brings Higher Levels of Success:

It’s a misconception that work-life balance is advocated primarily by those who are not very ambitious and want to settle for a more comfortable life. Well, you are not settling for less, you are demanding what’s right. You want to succeed but not by sacrificing your emotional health. So, don't listen to such arguments as success also lies in leading a balanced lifestyle in both your personal and professional life.

Conclusion

Working extra hours regularly or on weekends is not a sustainable model. Therefore, you must understand the importance of work-life balance and take steps towards achieving it. Once you do that, you will be able to function with a calm mind, focus better on your thoughts, and see your happiness quotient go up. And remember to take health insurance too, so that in case of a medical emergency, you are not stressed about both work and your finances.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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