Work-life balance is an objective of just about everyone juggling a job and personal responsibilities. But, it’s elusive to many of us. More than one in four American workers describe themselves as “super stressed,” which is neither balanced nor healthy.
As we rush to get everything “done” at work and home, it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind and not even realize our stress level is increasing and approaching an unhealthy level. Stress weakens our immune system and makes us prone to various ailments, like colds and backaches.
Chronic stress has been shown to double our risk of suffering a heart attack, a fact that raises our stress level even more! Eventually, something has to give – our job, our personal life, or our health.
The Benefits of Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance can be likened to a teeter-totter. We have work on one end and personal/family life on the other end. We want to get them balanced, so we’re sitting comfortably in the middle.
Why is work-life balance discussed so often? Is it really attainable?
It’s often discussed because technology has gotten us to the point where we’re constantly plugged in. Over 40% of workers say they use their personal devices to do work-related tasks while they’re at home.
As far as it being attainable – it is. You can go online and find dozens of stories of people who made changes to their career and lifestyle and found that sweet spot in the middle.
When asked what benefits they realized through work-life balance, they offered these ten:
- Less stress
- Improved mental health
- Better physical health
- Being more present
- Improved relationships
- Increased engagement at work
- Increased creative thinking
- More productive
- Happier and more fulfilled
- A higher level of success
Finding a Career That Provides Good Work-Life Balance
Having a work-life balance that keeps us happy and healthy is our responsibility.
We can control things concerning our personal life that will help move the needle towards the middle, like our need to be continuously connected to the outside world, taking the time to exercise and meditate, and spending more quality time with friends and loved ones.
On the professional side of things, the most significant variable is our career choice, which we can also control. Jobs that constantly drain us physically or emotionally, thankless jobs, jobs that offer no personal growth—we have the power to decide where we work and what we do for a living.
How Is Your Work-Life Balance Today?
No job is perfect, but on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate how your job affects your work-life balance (ten being excellent)? If you said anything less than a seven, something likely needs to change for you professionally.
Some careers lend themselves to a healthy work-life balance. Besides competitive pay, excellent employee benefits, and a happy/healthy environment, they also offer two other significant advantages: flexible hours and personal satisfaction.
Flexible hours: Life happens. If you need to start your day later because of a doctor’s appointment, leave early to attend a child’s event at school, or not work a particular day of the week, the right career is going to have the flexibility for you to be able to balance a job and a personal life.
Personal satisfaction: ending a day of work feeling that you’ve helped people and made a difference in their lives is invaluable. It helps you weather the storms that come with any job and leave for home smiling when the workday is over. You can’t measure this benefit, but you can feel it.
Caregivers Have Work-Life Balance
Family Resource Home Care offers caregivers everything mentioned above:
- Competitive pay
- Excellent employee benefits
- A great work environment
- Flexible hours
- Personal satisfaction
We are very accommodating when it comes to our caregiver’s schedules. We have many job opportunities and shifts available: short, long, day/night, hourly, or live-in.
Explore our job opportunities and give us a call. We’ll show you a career that has it all and will provide you with that healthy work-life balance you’ve been looking for.
