Best Tips for Maintaining Work-Life Balance

How we work – no matter where you are in the world – has ultimately changed. Some may prefer the traditional on-site working style, whereas others may work hybrid or fully remote. With the various working modes now available to us, it begs the question – how does this affect our work-life balance?

For many, the lines can be blurred, especially if boundary levels are low or there’s instability in their workplace culture. So how can individuals improve their work-life balance, even in the midst of our fast-paced world?

What is a work-life balance?

A work-life balance is where a person creates a sufficiently equal level between their professional and personal life. The individual (you or an employee) follows a method where they’re able to carry out duties and tasks – without sacrificing tons of energy, personal goals and aspirations.

The importance of a work life balance not only reduces stress and burnout, but it also helps manage employee wellbeing. This may seem simple on paper, but there are many factors that can contribute to poor work-life balance, even if expectations and hours reflect a balanced culture.

Why is work-life balance a topic of concern?

Only 61% of UK workers feel they have the right work-life balance, down from 70% in 2022. The HR Director also stated “Decades ago, people went to work from 9 to 5 and then came home to deal with their personal chores and recreation activity. Now, the workday is less defined, with technological advancements and working from home leading to longer days of blended work and personal activities.”. Clearly the problem is getting worse due to blurred lines in our personal and working lives

While it’s easy to say we should set boundaries, are organisations creating a workplace culture that facilitates work-life balance? If we feel we can’t balance our work and personal lives, our place(s) of work need to do more to help individuals feel like they can disconnect from work when their contracted hours are fulfilled.

Signs of an unbalanced work-life dynamic

An unhealthy work-life balance can feel like work is taking over your life. It can lead to feelings of exhaustion, disconnection and even burnout. If you’re unsure if you fall into this category, here are some signs you may have an unhealthy work-life balance:

Overworking

If we’re passionate about a project or task, we may want to devote extra time to it. But when this is a constant, this can feed into your personal time and takeover your other goals. Plus, it can take away from time to relax and enjoy life outside of work.

Poor self-care

Adequate sleep, leisure time and even personal hygiene can suffer if we have an unbalanced work-life dynamic. And with lack of sleep especially, we can experience the poor cognitive effects that can affect our work.

Your relationships are suffering

You may find the lack of time and energy to spend with friends, family and loved ones make your relationships feel strained. You may also observe your working relationships suffer too as levels of irritation may rise.

You may feel withdrawn

If your work-life balance is unhealthy, you may withdraw from social settings, work, hobbies and the like. You may even find them completely uninteresting, due to having little energy.

Cynicism

You may feel cynical towards work and everyday life, as well as say things like ‘what’s the point?’. Overtime, this can lead to feelings of having an ‘existential crisis’ that can feel overwhelming.

Why is it important to maintain a positive work-life balance? 

Maintaining a work life balance isn’t just about taking time off work or putting on a face mask in the evening. It’s important for our mental health and overall wellbeing. Around 43% of respondents in a survey said they have experienced symptoms of stress, anxiety or burnout brought on by poor work-life balance, and around 54% said they frequently felt overwhelmed by their workload.

With this in mind, it’s important to look at the root cause. Not only can this help you identify what’s tipping the scales, but it can also help you rebalance them. Then, by maintaining your work-life balance you can significantly reduce our stress levels, but it can stave off the effects of burnout. With better mental capacity, you can invest in areas of your life that mean the most too.

What are the benefits of maintaining a healthy work-life balance?

It’s one thing achieving work-life balance, it’s another to maintain it. There are numerous benefits to maintaining work life balance, such as:

• Increasing concentration at work

• Increasing quality of life

• llowing you to focus on your hobbies, leisure, fitness and other activities that add to your life and wellbeing

• It can help you focus on your goals

• It can help you build and maintain positive relationships

• It can help you maintain a positive sense of wellbeing.

With all of this in mind, maintaining a healthy work-life balance can reduce absences at work, help you manage your time, and ensure you can bounce back from challenges in a productive way (also known as resilience).

How to maintain a healthy work-life balance

So, we know the benefits of maintaining a work-life balance – but how do we actually do this? Here are some ways to maintain a long-term, healthy work-life balance.

1. Discover what’s contributing to poor work-life balance

If you find you get to a place where your work-life balance is good, but then it tips again – see what’s going on in your life that could be causing this:

• Are you taking on too much at work?

• Are you saying yes when you really mean no?

• Are you not adhering to your boundaries?

• Are your boundaries no longer sufficient at work?

When you have answers to these questions, you can work on solving these recurring issues. If you’re unsure how to navigate this, check to see whether your workplace has an Employee Assistance Programme that can connect you to a counsellor who can offer guidance on maintaining work-life balance.

2. Regularly review where you spend your time the most

Time really is a currency, and if it’s not spent well, it can cause other areas to suffer. Are you spending lots of time on non-urgent tasks? What’s making you avoid the more important ones? Do you find you procrastinate when really, it’s because you’re anxious about tackling a specific task (either in or out of work)?

3. Use your workplace perks

It can be easy to forget what perks our places of work offer. Whether it’s wellbeing initiatives or EAP – using them can help improve your overall wellbeing, as well as break up your working day.

4. Ask for support

Asking for support at work is the better alternative to suffering in silence. The latter can cause more feelings of anxiety, as well as contribute to mistakes. If you feel you cannot go to a manager or are unsupported, speak to your colleagues, friends, loved ones or a trusted third-party such as a counsellor for advice on breaking barriers to support.

5. Take regular breaks

It can be all too easy to power through when you’re on a roll. Over time, this can contribute to overworking, so make sure you take time to have regular breaks so you can recharge throughout the day. Mindful breaks with minimal technology are best. As after all, compulsive use of your phone (whether it’s checking texts, scrolling through social media platforms or just aimlessly browsing) can have negative consequences on our cognition.

How an Employee Assistance Programme can help

Maintaining work-life balance isn’t always straightforward. There will be ups and downs and trial and error until you can find a routine that works best. With HA | Wisdom Wellbeing, our counsellors can support individuals who are finding their work-life balance just isn’t reliable enough to stick to. They can help you build systems that work for you, as well as provide you with healthy coping strategies to ensure you can reap the benefits of a positive work-life balance.

Conclusion

Maintaining a work-life balance is important to overall wellbeing. If your current systems for doing so aren’t working, then it’s always best to reflect on what’s going wrong, so you can build better habits and boundaries. Plus, with help from a counsellor or trusted individuals in your life, you don’t have to do this alone. With the right systems in place, you can build a positive work-life balance that’s easy to maintain for the long-run.