How To Achieve Work-Life Balance in a Busy Corporate World

In today’s recession, it may seem that work always has to take priority. A job is something to be prized and to be held onto at all costs. The corporate world can start to swallow up your family life and this can lead to problems with your wellness and well-being.

 

Fortunately, work-life balance is something that can be achieved. The first step to achieving this balance is to stop trying to achieve it. Stop trying to be the best in the corporate environment and the best family man or woman you can be. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to enable you to do it all. Balance is far too big an aim to be achievable. If you put yourself in the position of aiming for this balance, you will simply feel stressed, and that stress will then lead to guilt. This negative cycle has all kinds of difficult physical and emotional side effects.

 

Instead, start to switch off the cycle of guilt. Accept that you can never do everything, and focus instead on doing the best that you can do with the time that is available to you. It may seem counter-intuitive, but you also need to schedule in downtime for the sake of your own mental health. Schedule family time the way you would schedule any meeting or business commitment and then make sure you stick to it. By blocking out this time in your calendar, you are more likely to find time to spend with your family – a decision you will not regret.

 

If you need more time to do things in your life, then cut back on the things that are mere time-wasters and don’t add any value to your life, for example things like internet surfing, television watching, and playing video games. These things are all too easy to get sucked into, and they waste valuable time. A good tip is to put stickers on items such as the TV and computer that say, ‘What matters most in my life?’ – this will give you a good reminder about what to prioritise.

Categories: Balance, corporate world, Family, Home, life, life balance, schedule, time, work, work life

How to Up Your Career While Maintaining a Work-Life Balance

At any point in your career, finding a work-life balance is difficult, but when you’re trying to get ahead? Impossible! You have to work harder and stay later if you want to get noticed, right? But then how does corporate wellness fit in? Here’s how to maintain some semblance of a personal life and sense of well-being while still furthering your career.

 

Firstly, make sure you know your company. Some jobs just aren’t created with a work-life balance in mind, while others may have more appeal in this area. Before you accept the position, look into the company’s policies on working from home, taking time off, and flexi-time. This shouldn’t form the be-all and end-all on your decision – there are, after all, many factors to consider – but if you think you may, at some point, need to spend more time at home with family, it’s good to know that you have that option.

 

If you want to get the most out of your work and personal life, than communication across the board is key. Doing your job – and doing it well – is the most important aspect in your chances of promotion. Sure, working more hours won’t hurt your chances, but if you’re productive and a consistent performer, it’s likely that a little communication between you and your boss will be all you need to ensure the schedule changes you want. Moreover, you need to keep your family in the loop about your schedule, as well as the plans and after-school activities of others at home. That way, you can work together to keep the family in order when you’re at the office, and your partner and your children will better understand, and deal with, why you’re not around as often as you’d like.

 

Finally, if your supervisor gives you the go-ahead to modify your schedule, think about the most ideal situation that can accommodate your work and home needs. This may involve going in early, but making it home in time for dinner. Or you may choose to work from home for part of the week, or a combination of the two. Why not leave the office at 4 P.M. instead of 5.30, but then catch up after the kids have gone to bed by responding to emails, etc.?

Categories: career progression, Communication, Home, life, life balance, Personal Life, policies, schedule, time, work, work life, Work-Life Balance

How to Up Your Career While Maintaining a Work-Life Balance

At any point in your career, finding a work-life balance is difficult, but when you’re trying to get ahead? Impossible! You have to work harder and stay later if you want to get noticed, right? But then how does corporate wellness fit in? Here’s how to maintain some semblance of a personal life and sense of well-being while still furthering your career.

 

Firstly, make sure you know your company. Some jobs just aren’t created with a work-life balance in mind, while others may have more appeal in this area. Before you accept the position, look into the company’s policies on working from home, taking time off, and flexi-time. This shouldn’t form the be-all and end-all on your decision – there are, after all, many factors to consider – but if you think you may, at some point, need to spend more time at home with family, it’s good to know that you have that option.

 

If you want to get the most out of your work and personal life, than communication across the board is key. Doing your job – and doing it well – is the most important aspect in your chances of promotion. Sure, working more hours won’t hurt your chances, but if you’re productive and a consistent performer, it’s likely that a little communication between you and your boss will be all you need to ensure the schedule changes you want. Moreover, you need to keep your family in the loop about your schedule, as well as the plans and after-school activities of others at home. That way, you can work together to keep the family in order when you’re at the office, and your partner and your children will better understand, and deal with, why you’re not around as often as you’d like.

 

Finally, if your supervisor gives you the go-ahead to modify your schedule, think about the most ideal situation that can accommodate your work and home needs. This may involve going in early, but making it home in time for dinner. Or you may choose to work from home for part of the week, or a combination of the two. Why not leave the office at 4 P.M. instead of 5.30, but then catch up after the kids have gone to bed by responding to emails, etc.?

Categories: career progression, Communication, Home, life, life balance, Personal Life, policies, schedule, time, work, work life, Work-Life Balance

Work Life Off Balance? How to Recover Your Calm

Your family understands the challenge that you face each day as you try to run a successful business and still make your presence and importance known in your own household. As challenging as it might be, however, you can still achieve the perfect balance of home and work. While your everyday thoughts may center on profits and your business’s viability, it is important that you reorganize your way of thinking and learn how to rely on others as you build a successful business. When you take these important steps, you can achieve the balance between work and family that you desire.

 

1. Stick to a Daily Schedule

Even if your business operates around-the-clock, it can be vital for you to work a regular schedule. If you are running to and from your business all day long, your spouse and kids may miss out on seeing you and spending time with you. If you work a regular schedule, however, you will find it is easier for you and your family to schedule time together. They will know what hours you are working and be able to free up time in their own busy lives to spend at home with you.

 

2. Delegate Authority

The company may bear your name or have you as its owner; however, this fact does not mean that you must be in charge all day long. If you hire and train managers to act in your stead while you are gone, you can take days off, spend time with family, and even enjoy a vacation every now and then when you delegate authority to these managers. They can act with your authority and carry out your wishes while allowing you to take some needed time off from your work duties.

 

3. Outsource Your Marketing

If you are worried about how you will make your presence known in the competitive market, you may try to spend as much time as possible at your business trying to come up with ways to market and advertise your brand. However, if this area of business is not your forte, you could fare better by outsourcing your SEO needs to an experienced company, such as Everspark Interactive, that handles these tasks for business owners.

You can strike the family and work life balance you need when you outsource your brand development and marketing to an SEO company.

 

4. Remember Your Family’s Schedules

As a business owner, it can be very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of your company. In little time, you could start believing that your world revolves around you and what you need to be successful.

However, you should remember that your children and spouse also need you to be a part of their lives. They should be the center of your world, along with your business. If you remember to go to their concerts, sports events, school meetings, and other activities, you can remember that you are a family person and have commitments to your loved ones as well.

 

5. Make it a Family Business

You can strike a good family and work balance when you make your business all about family. You can spend time with your loved ones if you bring them aboard and allow them to have some say in how your business is run every day. Some of the most successful businesses in the world are those that are run by families rather than a single owner.

 

Taking these suggestions into mind can help you remain calm and maintain a good balance between work and family. You can enjoy being successful at both home and work if you remember that your family loves and needs you to be present in their lives.

 

As a business owner with a large family, Lisa Coleman understands the importance of achieving and maintaining a well-established routine and work-life balance. Outsourcing online marketing needs to a professional company, such as Everspark Interactive, can help one obtain such balance while helping to make the business grow and prosper.

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/100642687@N03/9787417344/

Categories: business marketing, business owner, day long, delegate authority, everspark interactive, family responsibilities, family time, Family Wellness, life balance, regular schedule

What Makes a Company Excel at Creating Work-Life Balance?

The leader of any successful company will tell you that a work-life balance is good for corporate wellness; a reputation of putting employee wellbeing first increases morale, yields superior work and attracts the best talent in the market. Recently, job site Indeed.com released a list of the top 25 companies nationwide in terms of work-life balance, and director of recruiting Mark Steinerd explained, ‘Proper work-life balance makes employees feel appreciated, which in turn makes them more productive and more likely to stay with the company for an extended period of time… This list showcases those companies that, according to previous or current employees, got it right.’

 

Companies who made the list often infused balance into the work day itself, through creative managerial practices. Desk time is often the epitome of work day drudgery, and so Farhad Chowdhury, the chief executive officer of the application development firm Fifth Tribe, works with collaborators over an intensive four-mile hike rather than a conference room. The physical challenge is a great team-building exercise, and the collaborating element promotes thinking outside the box by removing professionals from the box itself. Chowdhury noted, ‘That’s why I try to do this with everyone with whom I interact professionally.’

 

Flex time also rated high on Indeed.com’s list of companies. As an employee at Wegmans explained, ‘Because I am a college student, my schedule can sometimes be all over the place. Thankfully Wegmans is more than happy to work around my school and personal schedule and make a work schedule that I can easily adhere to. For the two years I have worked at Wegmans, I have not regretted one minute of it!’ Most of us would rather work to live, rather than live to work, which means we place higher value on picking our kids up from school, attending a class or going to an important family event, than putting in the nine to five. During his 2010 TEDTalk Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work, Jason Fried, co-founder of the Web application firm 37signals, explained a flexible professional atmosphere allows the long, uninterrupted thought required for great (and even good) work to manifest.

Categories: Balance, Companies, flexible hours, hiking, life, life balance, list, productivity, work, work day, work life

Right Work-Life Balance Key for Women’s Success in UAE

Women who are successful in business have usually achieved the right work-life balance. Delegates at a conference hosted by the Dubai Women Establishment were told that the most successful female entrepreneurs are those who are able to juggle work and home, while also setting aside time for themselves.

The conference attracted more than a dozen women from the Emirates who are now successful entrepreneurs in several different fields.

Their message was that women can’t neglect their home life when they are focused on their career. However, the key to getting the right work-life balance is to meet all the different demands but not at the cost of a lack of social life or diminished wellbeing.

The conference heard that Emirati men need the support of their male partners if they are to achieve their goals but this is a problem in the Emirates because of the inequality in society between men and women.

Noura Ahmad Al Noman is the director general at the executive office of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, the wife of one of the rulers of the Emirates and a prominent supporter of social development in the UAE. Al Noman told delegates that too many women had to take on all of the responsibilities of the family and work at the same time while their menfolk ignored anything to do with the home.

However, the conference also heard that more businesses and organisations in the UAE are now paying attention to their female workforce with nurseries and daycare facilities now being provided at an increasing number, freeing up women to go to work knowing their children are being cared for. Hospitals, with their large numbers of female staff, are leading the way in providing childcare.

The conference heard calls for better maternity leave and increased leave for mothers to care for sick children.

Right Work-Life Balance Key for Women’s Success in UAE

Categories: al noman, conference, conference heard, female, female entrepreneurs, life, life balance, Support, Women, work, work life, Work-Life Balance