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WORK- LIFE BALANCE

Written by: Sohan Singh

Article Overview: Truly successful people know how to keep their lives in balance. Such people are more creative, achieve more and are more socially accepted.

WORK- LIFE BALANCE

Today the problem that has no name is how to juggle work, love and children.
(The second stage 1987)

We all talk about balance in our lives, but few of us really create and maintain it. Work - life balance is an important issue and even the government is working on it. However it is worth noting that Alan Johnson, the current Education Secretary missed the first meeting of a committee on the work-life balance because he was on paternity leave. There is no doubt that for some of us, family and career balance is the key to success, but then, for others, it may not be the top priority.

Many people complain bitterly of stress at work. They blame work and various aspects of it, like how much there is, or the excessive and unreasonable demands from colleagues or mangers. There is no doubt that many professions require lot of commitment from their employees.

Another side of the coin is that we have people who are workaholics or addicted to work. Work addiction is the term used by many psychologists because of the compulsive nature of the problem. It describes well some one who prefers to be involved in work whilst neglecting emotional and personal life. The dependency arises because they have a higher need to prove themselves at work. It is a response to low esteem (worth) and insecurity. In an increasingly competitive environment, it is usually the work addict who initially gains the line manager’s admiration and possibly promotion.

Work holism is a disorder and it is likely that your boss hopes that you will catch it. In the current climate of job security, the first person to leave the office is regarded as not committed enough- a part timer. Some Japanese employees leave the office only after the boss has left, otherwise they would be regarded as going against the mores. But then ‘Karoshi’ or death from overwork has been blamed for ten percent of all deaths of working men in Japan.


Those who virtually stay in the work place justify their neurotic behaviour by believing that if they do not work 70 hours a week, they won’t get every thing done. Such people are very susceptible to losing their relationships, their friends and consequently become isolated and lonely. They even lose their individuality, and are just work robots. Psychologists believe that the root of work addiction lies in childhood, when the workaholic’s family made them believe their love for them was conditional on their achievements.
My eldest son Dr.Jasdeep has been seconded to the parent pharmaceutical company in New York for two years. He tells me that people at the head office work very late in the evenings. Surveys also indicate that Americans, who are the hardest workers in the Western world, are taking fewer holidays than they have done for almost 30 years. Some people are so ambitious or so terrified of losing their jobs that they have to be forced to take their annual leave.
• The problem is that many people wear it as a badge of honour. In their minds, working long hours is tantamount to success. They consider them selves to be indispensable. Employers need to be aware of workaholics, and encourage them to have a better life-work balance. Work should be shared fairly amongst the team members and not given to the compliant ones only. Work addicts tend to take on too much, but then get into a panic when various deadlines start approaching.
• Truly successful people know how to keep their lives in balance. Such people are more creative, achieve more and are more socially accepted.

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Article Tags: alan johnson, competitive environment, current education, education secretary, holism, japanese employees, job security, karoshi, life balance, mores, no doubt, part timer, promotion work, second stage, stress at work, top priority, unreasonable demands, work addict, work addiction, working men



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