Work-life balance: what it is and how to balance it by enhancing our well-being

The work-life balance proposes us to try to reconcile both areas of our lives, work and personal, to achieve an adequate psychological and emotional balance.

Currently, in the demanding world of work in which we live, it's easy to lose your balance and spend more time at work, relegating the more personal sphere to the background. This lack of balance not only has repercussions in the areas that we stop attending, such as the family, the couple or friends, but also that ends up affecting the functionality itself at work and also having repercussions on the physical and psychological health of each subject.

In this article we will talk about the work-life balance, we will see what variables affect the possibility of balance, what psychological consequences the lack of balance between work and personal, and how to act to achieve professional and familiar.

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What is work-life balance?

The work-life balance, or in Spanish balance between work and life, consists of

the degree of reconciliation between work life and personal and family life. We know that both factors, both work and family, are important in our lives and, therefore, it is necessary to dedicate the relevant time to each one, without neglecting either.

In today's society, where work demands and labor demand are so high, it is easy for us to focus too much on this area and stop spending time on the others.

Each area brings us different things. For example, employment allows us to develop our professional career and earn money; instead, the family is what allows us to develop as people, relating to our most emotional part. For this reason, it is essential to find the balance between both to feel fully fulfilled.

On the other hand, it is necessary to point out that currently we must ensure that in both sexes there is the possibility of reconciling all areas. That is to say, that both women and men can develop professionally and personally and that they dedicate themselves to both contexts in a balanced and similar way. For this reason, to guarantee that the conciliation is carried out and complied with by the different companies, a regulation has been established that includes the different rights that the workers.

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Variables that do not allow reconciliation

There are different more or less controllable factors that can affect work-life balance and make it difficult to achieve a balance between work and family life.

In reference to the workplace, working long hours or an increase in job responsibility may require a greater dedication of time.

In addition, working from home, what we currently know as telecommuting, also makes it difficult to separate time that we dedicate to the work of personal and family time. It is easy for us not to respect the schedule and end up working more hours, thus producing an imbalance.

The family or personal environment can also show variations that affect balance, such as for example the birth of a child, that a family member is sick or that we ourselves let's get sick For this reason, it is necessary that the rights of each worker be established so that they can deal with work and family responsibilities.

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Effects produced by the lack of conciliation

When we are not able or are not allowed to reconcile work and family, both areas end up being affected, even affecting the mental and physical health of the subject. When we spend excessive time at work, we unbalance the balance, it is easy that sooner or later we will show symptoms related to this growing demand. The sole dedication to work means that we do not have time left for other areas of our lives, and with a very high probability I ended up burning ourselves at workexperience that is also known as burnout.

The increase in the demand of one of the areas and also wanting to meet and meet the demands of the others means that our rest is affected and we feel more tired, which can increase stress and thereby alter our physical health, increasing the risk of developing some type of pathology, such as heart disease and our mental health, we will more easily show symptoms of anxiety disorders and depressives

In the same way, the increase in demand in the workplace also has repercussions in the social sphere. We don't spend time with our family, our partner may feel hurt, and our friends may distance from us, which has repercussions, among other things, in a lack of social support and in the appearance of the unsedated loneliness.

If we do not balance and only dedicate time to one of the areas of our life, we end up harming not only those we leave unattended, but also the attended one, since our motivation and functionality are seen affected.

Work and family conciliation rights

As we have already seen, there is a regulation that tries to reconcile the workplace with personal and family life. Thus, we have the right to request leave with the intention of being able to dedicate more time to our personal life. Permissions can be classified into two categories. Paid permits, in this case the time granted to them, are not subtracted from vacations or land, and they will not have to recover it either. This leave can be granted for maternity and paternity, both of 16 weeks, for breastfeeding, up to 9 months of the baby and for vacations.

The other type of permit is unpaid, in this case the worker will not continue to receive his salary. We distinguish between leave of absence when work ceases for a period of time and reduction in working hours, in this case the salary will be reduced proportionally to the decrease in hours worked.

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How to reconcile work with personal life

Given the alterations or problems that not having a good work and family balance may entail, it will be necessary for us to try as much as possible to seek conciliation. If you are not able to manage the situation and you find yourself overwhelmed, seeking professional help is the best option to achieve conciliation.

1. Inform you of your rights

As we have stated in the previous section, workers have rights to which they can avail themselves when appropriate. Don't wait for anyone to look for you, find out what permits or aid you can ask for, in order to be able to balance all areas and be able to dedicate the relevant time to each one.

2. Create a clear schedule

It is important to manage our time well, organize ourselves and be able to enjoy each area. Above all, it is essential to manage ourselves well when we work from home or are our own bosses, when we don't have established a specific schedule, since in this situation it is easier for us to end up dedicating more hours to it and, therefore, losing the Balance. Set a schedule and pay attention to comply with it with maximum precision, try to organize yourself to be as productive as possible during working hours and thus be able to achieve the goals set and enjoy the rest time.

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3. learn to say no

Assertiveness is key to be able to adequately defend your rights. Sometimes for fear of the consequences we may receive, due to lack of information, for not knowing how to say that we do not accept jobs, or for seeing our labor rights compromised. For this reason, it is key to learn about the regulations and defend the rights that belong to us.

Assess what activities or tasks you can carry out and present your proposal to your boss in order to negotiate and reach an agreement that benefits both of you.

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4. At the end of your working day, totally disconnect

It is essential to enjoy free time, given that, as we have said, dedicating ourselves excessively to one area ends up burning and affecting all areas of the subject's life. Try to separate well the time you work, the time you spend with your children, the time you spend with your partner and the time that you share with your friends, they are all important and we cannot place one above the other, especially work.

When you finish your working hours, totally disconnect, do not answer any more work calls or emails, if you work, leave the place you have established to work and start doing a different task that helps you distract yourself and focus your attention on others topics. Do activities with your children, make plans with your friends and go out to dinner with your partner. These activities are the ones that really allow you to be well and be more functional and show you more motivated in your work.

5. Watch your health

A lack of balance between the different areas can lead to both physical and psychological health problems. It is crucial that we follow an adequate and healthy routine so that our state is not affected and we show ourselves strong in the face of challenges. that may arise. It is essential that we rest the necessary hours, at least 7 hours, practicing sports can help us improve both our physical and mental health, since it helps to disconnect, food is also essential to get the essential nutrients for our body to function correctly.