Work and Wellbeing: Creating a Sustainable Balance
Though many corporate environments have grown in leaps and bounds regarding attitudes and beliefs around better work-life balance, there still lurks an underlying pressure for some to work incessantly and place productivity above all else. If you’re not always striving for bigger and better targets, chasing the next promotion, ‘moving the dial’, or consistently putting in overtime or taking calls on your annual leave days, then it can feel like you’re not doing enough. But what measure do we have in place to ensure our relentless pursuit hasn’t gone too far? And, how can we really find a better balance between work and wellbeing?
A History of Hustle Culture
Working hard and climbing the corporate ladder certainly isn’t a new phenomenon, and doing so isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But what years and years of hustle culture has endorsed is the idea that the more you do, the more valuable you are; the busier you are, the better and more ahead you are.
The roots of hustle culture can be dated back to the 1970s, when industries began to grow, along with the demands of employees. The more hours employees put in, the more they were rewarded in the form of status, money, and power. In the modern world, social media has also been blamed for pushing the “rise and grind” mentality, reinforcing unrealistic expectations of work.
An Unsustainable Habit
Regardless of whether you’re seeing ‘results’ from all the extra work you’re putting in, this lifestyle is often not sustainable for most. Over time, you may notice your wellbeing, health and even relationships take a knock, which can lead to dissatisfaction, a sudden crash in productivity, and in worst case scenarios - . Symptoms of this can include, but are not limited to:
- Decreased motivation
- Procrastination
- Feeling unaccomplished
- Detachment from work
- Social withdrawal
- Emotional outbursts
- Excessive fatigue
- Poor sleep patterns
- Digestive issues
So, how do you safeguard yourself from reaching this point, while still pursuing an exciting and rewarding career?
Strategies for Creating a Sustainable Work-Life Balance
Ideally, you’ll begin to implement ways of balancing your work and your wellbeing before you begin to experience any of the above-mentioned symptoms. However, if you’ve already noticed that your wellbeing has taken a toll from imbalance, or you’ve identified that you’re experiencing burnout, that’s also a great step. Acknowledging this means that you can begin to fix it. Here are some tips on how to start...
- Redefine Success
Stepping back to think about what you qualify as being successful can help you to recognise what it is you’re truly striving for. We can often be clouded by the judgment of others defining what success is, be it a new job title, winning awards, or jumping up a pay bracket. But what is it that matters most to you?
It can be useful to write down what your priorities are, (both in life and career) and therefore how you determine success, be it a happy family, good health, career growth, personal development, or all of the above. Is this in line with your current lifestyle? Are you trying to prioritise too many things and accomplishing none? Are your expectations realistic? These are just a few questions to ask yourself as you begin to redefine your definition of success.
- Communicate Your Needs
Once you’ve thought about what your core values are, this might lead to making some changes in your day-to-day life. Perhaps now is the time to speak to your manager about the ways you’d like to approach a better balance your yourself.
Effective communication is key, and it’s important to remember that any changes such as setting boundaries with your working hours, saying no to additional projects until your current ones are complete, or delegating additional responsibilities, will have an impact on them too. Being clear in communicating why you’re making these suggestions and being open to some negotiation is a worthwhile conversation to be had.
- Try Something New!
Picking up a new hobby as an adult can have many benefits that include reduced stress levels, boosted creativity, and can be a great way to improve your work and wellbeing balance. Hobbies can also alleviate pressure from the demands of day-to-day life and are a great tool for helping you stay committed to any time boundaries you have set. For example, if you’ve told yourself and your team that you’ll be leaving the office at 5.30pm but nothing is holding you accountable, then you might be more inclined to stay that little longer.
- Avoid Bringing Work Home
Boundaries between home and working life can often be blurred, especially if you work remotely. But putting clear boundaries in place, be it you only work from one particular room, or you keep your work laptop exclusively in the office, then it’s important to be consistent with these.
Bringing work home can be an easy habit to fall into, but if you find you’re regularly struggling to get your tasks done, then this may be something you need to communicate with your manager. If your team think you’re handling the workload (and this might be the impression you’d like to give off), but in reality you’re sacrificing home and family time as a consequence, then you may not be getting the balance right.
- Use Your Leave
Many employees don’t use up the annual leave they’re entitled to. Even for those who do, nearly half spend their time ‘off’ still working*. But when trying to create a sustainable work and wellbeing balance, this isn’t a healthy habit.
Again, it relates to boundaries, and you may want to consider setting firmer ones (even if just with yourself) when it comes to your annual leave. Plus, taking a well-deserved break means you can recharge and return invigorated, avoiding future burnout!
* British Airways | Half of Brits fail to take their annual leave, British Airways Holidays reveals
