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Getting the balance right between work and family time can be difficult.
Long work hours, colleague expectations and the desire to progress can all have a detrimental effect on an employee’s health and wellbeing. However getting the balance right can lead to an increase in productivity, motivation to succeed, better workplace cultures and a happier family lifestyle.
To help employees find out whether they should reassess their work-life balance, AXA PPP healthcare have built this simple visual quiz.
If you find out you might be suffering from an out-of-kilter work-life balance, these practical steps by Psychological Health expert Eugene Farrell will help you get back on track:
Prioritise work tasks rigidly and stick to doing the most important first.
Schedule work into the day in time slots as you would with meeting appointments and work to that time.
Take regular breaks, get up every hour and walk. Go and get some water or a drink and return to your work refreshed.
Ensure you take a proper lunch break away from your desk where you can eat and drink.
Take all of your annual leave each year, with a least one full week, and preferably disconnect from work once a quarter.
Use out of office message and a nominated cover when you are away from work so that you don’t have to check emails all the time.
Understand your limitations of work that you can successfully and reasonably achieve.
If you feel uneasy about saying no to more work from your manager then negotiate taking on the work whilst delaying something else.
Being fit for work is as important as work – get good sleep, eat healthily, exercise, spend time with family and friends.
If you are a leader of people, set the example and send the right message.
For more tips and guidance on achieving a work-life balance, visit AXA PPP healthcare’s Work Life Balance portal.
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What makes us susceptible to burnout?
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="70883" img_size="medium" onclick="custom_link" link="https://www.shponline.co.uk/working-at-height-3/barbour-download-guide-to-working-at-height/"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title="Listen now!" color="success" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shponline.co.uk%2Fpodcasts%2Fwhat-makes-us-susceptible-to-burnout%2F|target:_blank"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Wellbeing quiz: Do you have a good work-life balance?Getting the balance right between work and family time can be difficult. Long work hours, colleague expectations and the desire
Safety & Health Practitioner
SHP - Health and Safety News, Legislation, PPE, CPD and Resources
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So, because I always read my E-mails when out of the office as I have an enabled phone; my work / life balance could be better. What a load of rubbish! If I chose to, because I have the time to do so, yet always go to the gym for an hour at lunchtime and get home by 1800 every evening for dinner with my wife (although I do start at 0630); why is my balance wrong? I am not stressed and would rarely have to say no to my boss, as I manage to prioritise my work and spread it across the week.
I have a 6 day week as part of living and working overseas and regularly travel away from my home base and my wife, but then manage to catch up some time on my return and I get 4 weeks break after completing my15 week rotation.
Yes, if I had young children I would make more time; but how many parents would have 4 weeks in every 19 to spend with children and have holidays. This article is too generic and doesn’t allow leeway for those who work in higher positions and cope with the hours needed to fulfil the role.
Needless to say I think everyone would be chuffed by Bob’s pro-active approach to his work/life balance accepting the employers facilitating an appropriate working and break cycle allowing better contact time with family than the rest of us with a 9 to 5 week throughout the year.
However, for the remainder of the working population the concept of WEL (Work Exposure Limits) has a long way to go before it is perceived to apply to everyone’s wellbeing and not just those in more hazardous jobs.
Exposure and over-exposure to work related stress in any form resulting in either physical or psychosocial harm founded in any debilitating degree of fatigue affecting performance and productivity including increased risk of minor errors and more significant mishaps or accidents is a safety critical aspect of occupational health.
Not just in the short or foreseeable future but, long term as individuals “working life-cycle” is now demonstrably and seriously foreshortened by early development of non-communicable diseases either requiring some long time off and/or permanently affecting health by way of disability or even terminal death in work of the employee.
So, far from being a trite, broad brush-strokes article as part of the WHO Global “Better Workplaces” nudge campaign legislation is increasingly focused on Health and wellbeing as a direct safety, hazard and risk issue in today’s workplace especially as, employers are recognising that presenteeism is an insidious hazard to their bottom line, as stress in it’s many forms, has a direct and debilitating effect on human resources / asset value and depreciation where performance and productivity is no longer sustainable over time / working life cycle.
Not sure i agree with this with the way it starts. I take lunch every day so according to the diagram above I miss the question about overtime, which I regularly do. Poorly laid out diagram. The question on overtime should come first.
I start work at 0800hrs have a light working breakfast at desk, usually porridge, I sometimes go for lunch sometimes not, I should finish at 1800hrs however routinely stay in office a couple hours longer unpaid, I then go to my room after work probably go to gym or go a run. I will shower then either go to dinner or have a snack in my room, then I will Skype my wife and son for a bit until he gets bored and wants to go back on Xbox. I will watch a bit of Dish TV then hit the sack, I do this routine for approx. 12 weeks then go home for 3 weeks. Been doing it for a good few years now, maybe only a couple left…….. 🙂
So, because I always read my E-mails when out of the office as I have an enabled phone; my work / life balance could be better. What a load of rubbish! If I chose to, because I have the time to do so, yet always go to the gym for an hour at lunchtime and get home by 1800 every evening for dinner with my wife (although I do start at 0630); why is my balance wrong? I am not stressed and would rarely have to say no to my boss, as I manage to prioritise my work and spread it across the week.
I have a 6 day week as part of living and working overseas and regularly travel away from my home base and my wife, but then manage to catch up some time on my return and I get 4 weeks break after completing my15 week rotation.
Yes, if I had young children I would make more time; but how many parents would have 4 weeks in every 19 to spend with children and have holidays. This article is too generic and doesn’t allow leeway for those who work in higher positions and cope with the hours needed to fulfil the role.
Needless to say I think everyone would be chuffed by Bob’s pro-active approach to his work/life balance accepting the employers facilitating an appropriate working and break cycle allowing better contact time with family than the rest of us with a 9 to 5 week throughout the year.
However, for the remainder of the working population the concept of WEL (Work Exposure Limits) has a long way to go before it is perceived to apply to everyone’s wellbeing and not just those in more hazardous jobs.
Exposure and over-exposure to work related stress in any form resulting in either physical or psychosocial harm founded in any debilitating degree of fatigue affecting performance and productivity including increased risk of minor errors and more significant mishaps or accidents is a safety critical aspect of occupational health.
Not just in the short or foreseeable future but, long term as individuals “working life-cycle” is now demonstrably and seriously foreshortened by early development of non-communicable diseases either requiring some long time off and/or permanently affecting health by way of disability or even terminal death in work of the employee.
So, far from being a trite, broad brush-strokes article as part of the WHO Global “Better Workplaces” nudge campaign legislation is increasingly focused on Health and wellbeing as a direct safety, hazard and risk issue in today’s workplace especially as, employers are recognising that presenteeism is an insidious hazard to their bottom line, as stress in it’s many forms, has a direct and debilitating effect on human resources / asset value and depreciation where performance and productivity is no longer sustainable over time / working life cycle.
Not sure i agree with this with the way it starts. I take lunch every day so according to the diagram above I miss the question about overtime, which I regularly do. Poorly laid out diagram. The question on overtime should come first.
I start work at 0800hrs have a light working breakfast at desk, usually porridge, I sometimes go for lunch sometimes not, I should finish at 1800hrs however routinely stay in office a couple hours longer unpaid, I then go to my room after work probably go to gym or go a run. I will shower then either go to dinner or have a snack in my room, then I will Skype my wife and son for a bit until he gets bored and wants to go back on Xbox. I will watch a bit of Dish TV then hit the sack, I do this routine for approx. 12 weeks then go home for 3 weeks. Been doing it for a good few years now, maybe only a couple left…….. 🙂