How important is it to relax and switch off from work-related issues after leaving the workplace?
Obviously, if one is well-matched with one’s work, playing to one’s strengths and fulfilled, it is less of an issue….one should not feel out of one’s depth and one should be enjoying what one does. One can happily stay up all night playing computer games or reading a good book if that is pleasing and satisfying…. if work provides the same level of satisfaction, that is not necessarily an issue.
However, everyone needs to rest and sleep! A break can enable one to return to a task refreshed and with renewed enthusiasm ( that crossword clue with which you were struggling the night before so often comes to you in a flash the next morning when you look again).
Build in some technology free time and feel the difference – discover conversation and family life again, rebuild relationships, relax, have fun, take air and exercise, and notice how quickly you get things done the next day!
Worksmart: Prioritise, organise, rationalise, think logically rather than emotionally. Ask for help when necessary. Delegate when required. With everything feeling under control there should be less stress and fewer sleepless nights.
Social support: Good friends and a good partner can offer moral support, but can also involve you in activities which take you away from work (and they need your attention too!).
Plan leisure time like you plan your work activities.
Have a routine or work schedule, and stick to it! Take regular breaks. Try to do a good job, not a perfect one! Turn off the mobile! Go out and ‘forget’ to take it with you!
The Essay on First Day Work Good Department
I have had my work experience in a design warehouse. It looked like a big house with loads of widows. Was I expected to use apple Mac computers but in fact I got more then I expected. I learn many things and how working people act and I gained insights into the warehouse. I hope to go back to this firm when I leave school or I hope to do this kind of work when I am older. They offered me job but ...
How to Create Work-Life Balance!
Digital detoxing became a trend after 5 world-class neuroscientists demonstrated amazing results and benefits when you do not check your Blackberry ten times a day: by day three, thinking was clearer, sharper and deeper. Ideas formed and stuck.
Good concentration and attention is vital to success; you cannot be as psychologically healthy when glued to a screen all day.
The Importance of Work-Life Balance
CIPD – Work-life balance
Explains the importance of work-life balance for employees and employers. Summarises relevant law and suggests ways to improve with an action plan. Includes the CIPD viewpoint.
work life Balance in Practice – The Work Foundation
Employers – the issues, case studies and useful links
Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethical Business
Employers’ concerned with CSR consider their employees work life balance
The Importance of Work/Life Balance
Many employers sneer at phrases like work/life balance. These slave drivers would have you believe that paying attention to your private life is a sin against work, against the company, perhaps against humanity! But without work/life balance, the best-lai
Unknown
Some employees believe that all work and no play is the only certain path to the corner office on the executive floor. While this isn’t true, it is true that commitment, dedication, and hard work are essential to leadership success.
The Business Benefits – Making the Case for Work-Life Balance
(Taken from www.theworkfoundation.com)
“Work-life balance is an important element of Good Work, the interconnection of quality of working life and productive workplace. The world of work is changing, both the structure of the labour market and the types of work we do. Employees are the 21st century organisation’s greatest asset – accountants are even adding human capital to the balance sheet.
The Research paper on Impact of Work Life Balance on Motivation of Employees in It Industry
... Finding the right balance between what works for the employer and what works for the employee is the key for companies contemplating work-life initiatives. Every workplace ... response to shifts in the labor market and the changing nature of work, work-life balance is now at the top of the agenda of ...
The big picture
The structure of the labour market in the UK has changed dramatically over the last few years and will continue to change:
* We remain in full-or part-time education until we are older, while more of us are opting to retire at an earlier age.
* The largest growth in labour market participation between 1990 and 2000 occurred among mothers with young children.
* It is projected that 66% of the increase in the UK population between 2000 and 2025 will be attributable to immigration.
* Generation Y (those born after 1978) has entered the workforce: these young workers look at an organisation’s track record on corporate social responsibility and are not afraid to negotiate flexible working terms.
The types of work we do and the nature of work itself have also changed dramatically over the past 20 years:
* Over 22.5 million people in the UK are employed in the service sector and just 4.6 million in manufacturing. (ONS 2008).
* The intensity of work has increased: average working hours are shorter but work is carried out faster. Intensification affects all countries in the EU, all industry sectors and all occupational categories.
* Changes in technology (IT and telephony) give employers more flexibility in terms of the way they ask people to work. 80% of managers said that virtual working (also called e-working) is a key business issue, according to a 2003 Roffey Park report.
Good work-life balance policies and practices help meet these changes and are good for business as well as employees. Some benefits can be directly measured financially.
The business benefits of work-life balance
Increased productivity, mediated through the factors listed below, as well as:
* The degree of control an employee has over their tasks impacts their effectiveness at work.
* A 2003 DTI study revealed that 49% of companies saw a positive increase in productivity. (DTI The second work-life balance study. Results from the employers survey – executive summary 2003).
The Essay on Life Changing Moment
Each and everyone of us has a story to tell and share to others, life stories that may serve as an inspiration to other people. Every individual may have a life experience or a moment in his or her life that somehow greatly affects his or her whole life. We often share our own triumphs and travails, our victories and defeats, our happiness and despair that bring alterations to the present life ...
Improved recruitment and retention:
* Labour turnover is expensive, both in terms of direct replacement costs and the loss of skills and knowledge.
* A DTI poll found all workers were interested in good work-life balance policies, but they are particularly important to carers, parents (mothers and fathers), graduates and older workers
* BT saved £3m in recruitment costs in the year to March 2003, since 98% of women returned after maternity leave.
Lower rates of absenteeism:
* The CBI believes that absenteeism levels are the main reason why UK productivity lags behind the US and some parts of Europe, costing the UK £11.6bn per year.
* Good work-life balance policies take account of long term absence, the causes of stress and the needs of different groups. See our work on Health and Wellbeing
* The London Borough of Camden experienced a 2.5% reduction in the cost of sickness absence in the first year it introduced a work-life balance strategy.
Reduced overheads:
* BT saved £52m in overheads in the year to March 2003 by increasing its number of home workers; this also means an annual saving of £10m in fuel costs.
* An improved customer experience
* A more motivated, satisfied and equitable workforce.
To find the right work-life balance strategy for your business, you will need to identify what your business wants to achieve from it, e.g. more women at senior positions or greater workforce diversity.”
Media Habits of Teens
Not strictly relevant, but interesting!
Centre for Digital Future Report on Impact of Technology on Teen Behaviour
Changes in teen behaviour over the last 15yrs of the Internet
