What is work-life balance and why is it important?

One of the characteristics of how the work context has evolved in recent decades has to do with how difficult it is to distinguish between personal life and professional life.

As the years go by and we are entering the 21st century, the line that separates the private sphere and the workplace becomes more blurred, as if work remunerated was already such a flexible and malleable concept that, whenever we neglect ourselves, it “filled in” many of those moments of the day in which we ask ourselves: do I have something better? to do?

Faced with this new reality, and especially after the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis and the popularization of teleworking, it is more necessary than ever to take into account what is known as work-life balance. Let's see what it is and some tips to manage it.

• Related article: "Psychology of work and organizations: a profession with a future"

What is the work-life-balance?

As its name in English suggests, the work-life balance consists of the situation of balance between time and resources devoted to paid work, on the one hand, and time and resources devoted to everything else, on the other

. Therefore, it is a necessary element both to know how to establish a consistent paid work pattern and for, in the medium and long term, guaranteeing living conditions capable of providing physical and psychological well-being, and in which it is possible to maintain healthy social relationships and functional.

A) Yes, those who have a good work-life balance not only correctly manage the time they dedicate to working “officially” the necessary hours; In addition, they have access to family conciliation, to the possibility of being part of the social fabric (through relationships with friends, neighbors, etc.) and have adequate rest and leisure time to be happy.

Ultimately, this balance between what you work for money and what you do in other areas of life cannot simply be solved blurring the first of these elements, spending overtime for moments of rest (for example, working from the laptop while watches a movie at night) or disguising networking situations or customer service under the illusion that it is social relations of friendship.

The existence of a good work-life-balance implies, among other things, that it is possible to clearly distinguish between these two spheres of life.

Why is it important to keep this in mind when managing time and resources?

Knowing how to establish a good balance between professional life and private life is important for several aspects related to both people's well-being and power relations, but three are worth highlighting. reasons.

1. Without clear guidelines and boundaries, work tends to cover everything

The Parkinson's law says that "work expands to cover all available time", and something similar happens specifically in the labor context: if it is not limited clearly the time we dedicate to paid work and establishes in advance the amount of resources that we can spend on it throughout the day and the week, It is easy for it to spread, without us realizing it, covering all the times in which we are not sure what to do.

This is especially true in countries like Spain, which stand out for having a large number of self-employed workers taking into account their active population. Many self-employed workers tend to self-exploit, partly due to job insecurity, but others In some cases, it is due to not knowing how to measure time or not being aware of the life habits that generate discomfort and dependence on the job.

2. Physical and psychological well-being requires this balance

Having an unbalanced life in which work covers everything not only introduces us into a spiral of constant search for better results; In addition, it wears out our physical and psychological well-being.

Anxiety problems and job burnout are among the most common forms of emotional distress in situations of this type, as well as the medical complications derived from that unhealthy lifestyle: problems in the joints from staying too long in the same position, overweight from not having time to cook, etc.

3. It is necessary to live beyond responsibilities

Many people believe that work-life balance is about managing time spent on paid work and work at home or related to parenting. But this is a mistake: this balance must include the moments of leisure and rest dedicated to oneself, as well as the situations of informal social relationships, which do not seek a specific purpose beyond being in the company of the rest. Otherwise, we will be more and more isolated.

To do?

So far we have already seen several key ideas that help to recognize possible problems when it comes to work-life balance. First, ambiguity when setting hours makes it easier for companies (or ourselves as self-employed) demand overtime under the idea that “you have nothing better than make", and this can be exacerbated in contexts such as the coronavirus pandemic, in which you work through a computer connected to the Internet to which you almost always have access.

Second, some people make the mistake of assuming that they do not spend excessive time at work because they are able to access the resources to stay alive in the short term. without realizing that this way of working is causing physical and psychological problems to appear little by little, in a more subtle way than the simple deprivation of what a salary can buy, which makes it more difficult to detect that something is wrong.

In third place, do not fall into the error of believing that the work-life balance is just family conciliation or that applies only to people with children: each person, by virtue of being one, must be able to have of time to devote to herself, without the need to always justify herself by appealing to responsibilities concrete.

However, Going from words to practice when managing the work-life balance well is not as easy as having these conclusions in mind; you have to act accordingly. And to achieve this, it may be necessary to have help from friends, family or psychology professionals. After all, it is easy to fall, without realizing it, into routines and habits of self-sabotage that lead us to behave in a way contrary to what we believe: “I deserve time, but precisely this month it is very important that I strive to obtain that promotion”, “I don't get enough rest, but I can't say no to myself boss ”, etc.

Are you interested in having professional psychological support?

If you are looking for in-person or online psychological assistance services, I invite you to contact me. I am a psychologist specialized in the cognitive-behavioral model and I attend both individuals and companies, intervening in cases of anxiety management problems and other emotions, the need to learn to manage conflicts or communicate in a more assertive way, or the lack of time management skills, among others problems. You can have my services both in person in Madrid and through video call sessions.