Work-life balance is essential for many employers in ensuring that their employees do their best work and live more optimistic lives. Every employee wants to work for an employer that shares the same values as them, but they also want to work for employers who believe in taking care of their employees first. Some employers offer benefits such as dedicated ‘decompress’ time, remote working arrangement, summer time off, family days and parental leave, shift rotations between team members, and flex time. However, not all employers offer those. So we must know how to balance our work and life.
If we forget the purpose that drives us outside the office, we can never fully leverage our strength in the office. Tapping into that energy can take you on an unexpected career track as well. We do more for our employers when we work strategically in terms of caring for the parts of ourselves that don’t always appear to be related to the work at hand.
For those who are working tirelessly, especially since many of us are working from home right now, do not forget this — you are not your job. You are not married to your job. This is where you ought to find purpose outside of the work you do. Set boundaries for yourself so that you can freely give to others. Tap into your gifts, talents and passions. Everyone have hobbies that make the world a better place. Life is like an onion that has many layers. We are all multi-dimensional and find purpose, big and small in different ways.
This COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated this to many of us — that our worth is not attached to a title, a company or a building. We must learn that our life is multifaceted and evolving at each moment. We are more than work. The goal is a purpose driven life where you have to find the right balance, and this includes family/friends, travel, education, experiences, careers, etc.
There are folks who lose themselves and get trapped by a salary, and not many get to use the gifts that they have. Not everyone has that luxury of working in a field that they are passionate about. Most individuals work in jobs that they don’t get pleasure or happiness out of.
And there are folks who begin to discover this purpose once they enjoy the work they do. If you love helping others, and let’s say your profession is in HR. If talent management, talent acquisition or recruiting allows you to do that, then it has enabled you to put this effect on the lives of those that you work with. You fall in love with those times where you feel that what you are doing is a reflection of the values you want to influence in the world. Finding true purpose is not often easy, but once found it is like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Whether you are one of the two above, this serves as a reminder that it is important for all to zone out sometimes, take breather, catch up on self-care, travel and just do things where you do not have to worry about work all the time. “Maintaining a work-life balance is very important, not just for your physical and mental health but for productivity as well, both personally and professionally”, according to General & Medical. But at the same time, always find purpose and decide for yourself what place is the most inspiring to focus in the moment that you are in.
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