Work Life Balance: 3 Simple Tips to Ingratiate Work Life Harmony
Life is dynamic. It depends on where you are in your own life as to what you’re going to be facing and working through. Whether it’s current times or even future times, you’re going to have a different level of challenge with balancing things.
Indeed, it’s important to think about those priorities and do a deeper dive. We need to get clear on what our goals are for each priority. Similar to the sense of understanding what your values are, you also need to understand what the values are of your team and your organization.
A lot is said about work-life balance and then ignored. There is a sense of “what do you do as a leader” model.
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Why is Work-Life Balance Important? Why is it Relevant to Leaders?
COVID-19 brought us life changes, not just to leaders, but also to organizations. In this era, finding a balance between work-life and the rest of your real life is really the key to maintaining mental health through all of this.
Now is the time to come to the forefront and discuss this. It’s also important to note that even the most perky or bubbly people you know, can still feel a bit down or isolated because of the situation. Some struggle with their mental health.
Managing expectations is something that needs to be highlighted, too. Whether they are stated or unstated expectations of the organization, the leader depends on himself/herself, but also on the team that they lead and the organization should be clear enough for everyone.
Balance Tips from the Mayo Clinic
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Lack of Work-Life Balance
There is a formula about leaders and organizations. Leaders drive the culture, which drives the behavior, which then drives the results. To get the best and most successful business results that are sustainable and impactful, leaders should be:
- Proficient
- Empathetic
- Have Excellent EQ (emotional intelligence)
When leaders drive a certain culture that does not support the importance of emotional well-being, you see people being max point zoomed out. Leaders have a direct impact on employees’ well-being, on their sense of themselves. That’s the number one reason why people leave their jobs–when they don’t feel supported by a leader.
How Can You Affect Your Team More Positively?
How Can Leaders Foster Work-Life Balance?
For the leaders and the people they lead, and even for the organizations, it may sound cliché to say that actions speak louder than words. But we have to admit that this is the reality. Leading by example and showing what it really means to prioritize a healthy work-life balance is imperative.
We can encourage people to start where they’re at and start simple. Eight hours in the office doesn’t always mean you’re clicking or typing non-stop for eight hours. You need to take a break.
Even 15 minutes can be very valuable in shifting energy for the day and encouraging people to feel balanced or at least take an action to start to move in that direction where one might feel balanced.
Be a Leader By Example: 3 Simple Tips
1) Take a break. Walk a bit. Take time off.
If people are on schedule and the work is getting done, granting a Friday afternoon off could be worth its weight in gold. Recognizing that we are in the middle of a pandemic is one important step. People are stressed and tired. If it is not the culture within the organization to take this kind of time off, perhaps this is the time to challenge that culture.
Self-care is something that also needs to be prioritized during this time as it is not an option anymore. If we don’t feel good, we are not going to get through this, or we will and we might be in core form at the end of this.
In addition to being role models themselves, leaders have to ask their employees what would help them. Leaders need to know what employees would like to do to enjoy their lives a little bit more. An employee who hears this from their leader gets that sense of having an organization. It makes them feel that they belong in a culture that actually cares about their welfare.
2) Unplug…literally and figuratively.
Sometimes it helps if we disconnect for a moment. Plan an activity purposely for the end of your day. It should involve either someone you love, or a friend you haven’t seen in a while. You can do something outdoors together.
You may also do something that just causes your stress level to dissipate and really get to a different level of calm and relaxation. 45 minutes of light cardio, dancing with your kids or taking a quick swim will also help.
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3) Silver lining.
Out of all the hullabaloo that has been happening all around us, we can say that the silver lining here is that we were able to see the value of things that we took for granted. Families with members who were too busy in the corporate world or in their respective businesses had the chance to have dinners together. They got to play board games or watch Netflix and chill during the pandemic. Furthermore, it strengthened the bond of families. In conclusion, people were able to appreciate the little things that they have overlooked while they were too busy doing their jobs. The bottom line here is: appreciate the silver lining!