Is Work Life Balance a Myth?

Benjamin Taylor
Posted by in Career Advice


This has been a popular subject lately. The definition of work life balance really is finding complete balance between work life and all other areas of your life. This includes balance in your family life, health, close relationships, etc.

Work life balance is an active topic nowadays because most people today are working hard and long hours. They are trying to figure out what is the secret to maintaining a healthy lifestyle while rising up the ladder at work.  Some workers put all their time and effort into their job; They use countless hours trying to perform their jobs to the letter.

If you have personal matters, as a worker, you can have a difficult time trying to make time for work and life.  You might take your work home with you if you are trying to get ahead of a project.  You put the rest of your life on hold. You forget about friends and family.  You are overwhelmed with work but find no relief at home. In short, you can do your best in one aspect of your life and have the rest of your life suffer because of that.

The question we need to ask in regards to this topic is this: Is work life/balance a myth? There is no way to have equal time for all your work life, family life and personal life, right?  It depends on who you speak to. Some swear by this method and others think it is an unrealistic goal.

What does this mean to you?

It depends on what you value the most. Do you care about balance in your life? It can be stressful to maintain and it can put pressure and strain on your health to make sure that all your areas of your life have equal time. 

This is a worthy goal, but it is unrealistic to have everything perfect. That doesn’t mean that achieving balance is not something to strive for. It is. 

It is something that needs to continue to evolve. Yes, you only have so much time in your life, but make sure you are not drowning in your work.  Have a schedule for the month or week to try to have a healthy lifestyle.

If you want to schedule time with friends or family, talk to them ahead of time to see when you can hangout. If you need to work out or need some time to yourself, make sure you schedule time for that as well. If your work life is taking over the rest of your life and you want to change, see if you can make a change in your hours to reflect your new work/life schedule.

 If your job won’t allow it and everything else in your life matters to you, maybe it is time to find a different position or another line of work that can give you the flexibility that you want.

It is important to have a life that is healthy and that includes all aspects of your life.

 

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  • AAyesha P.
    AAyesha P.

    I agree

  • kenneth m.
    kenneth m.

    I agree with you on all aspects of your last article

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson

    @Hanh W. thanks for your comment. Don't give up! There are jobs out there. Employers are starting to realize that the more senior workers bring the best value. Senior workers are more mature; more reliable; better work ethics. Their children are grown and they can dedicate themselves to the job. So keep on applying. That job is there for you!

  • Hanh W.
    Hanh W.

    That'right, I'm 63 years old,too hard to find a job,even i tried to applied many times...

  • Rich M.
    Rich M.

    That's true. As it is now, they base retirement on the year you were born. I being born in 1959, have to wait until I'm 66 and those a lot younger than I, have to work longer. For years it use to be 65 regardless of when you were born, that all changed a few years ago. Back to article, it is hard to do both, but it can be done. You just have to organize the balance a little different than you did before.

  • Michael T.
    Michael T.

    great article , don't be afraid to change direction , or re-evaluate ,good advice in this article

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