The importance of work-life balance

You have most likely heard people saying they want more of a work-life balance or came across it as a listed benefit of working for a particular company, and you probably asked yourself ‘what is work-life balance?’

Work-life balance means the separating of your personal and professional lives, referred to as ‘work’ and ‘life’, and ensuring that each of them gets the proper time and attention, referred to as ‘balance’.

It is all too common nowadays to be so caught up in our working lives that we neglect our personal lives. It is crucial that we find our way back to a healthy work-life balance. After all, there is a fine line between working to live and living to work.

So, why is work-life balance so important?

Benefits of work-life balance

1. Maintain your mental health

Mental health is greatly impacted by how healthy one’s work-life balance is, so it is vital to assess how you are feeling and consistently check-in. Unfortunately, employers too often overlook mental health and the importance of work-life balance. Stress-related illnesses are high amongst the workplace, as is burnout. Luckily, with a healthy work-life balance, you can maintain your mental health.

2. Increased productivity while at work

When you have the time to take care of you, outside of work, your productivity while you are at work has the chance to significantly increase. Working long hours does not guarantee quality work, and in fact it probably means that you are less productive than you could be if you simply went home and came back to knock out the tasks the next day.

3. More drive

When you are overwhelmed by how much you are working, it is hard to keep your motivation high. With a healthy work-life balance, you give yourself the time and space to clear your mind from work-related topics and feel refreshed, driven, and ready to go once back in work mode.

4. More happiness

When you have the time to truly live and have a healthy work-life balance, it naturally results in even more happiness.

5. Know how to create and keep boundaries

Striking a healthy work-life balance means that you will not only need to learn how to create boundaries, but also how to keep them. It is important to remember that you set the tone for your availability and priorities. If you take work calls on the weekends or send emails out at 2am, your colleagues and those in your professional sphere will consider your availability into the ‘off’ hours.

So take the time to consider your current work-life balance. Do adjustments need to be made? The healthier your work-life balance is, the greater you will feel the benefits in all aspects of your life.