Work-Life Balance

 

We've heard these 3 words so many times in our professional lives - most companies in the US (and probably elsewhere) make a big deal about trying to help ensure their employees achieve this balance. But when is that balance truly achieved - and is it ever?

I've heard the balance is achieved when you are successful at work and in your life! So the question then is - how do you measure success in your life?

Success at Work for example - is well defined and measured by your career growth . We work on a schedule - that we strive to meet, we work on a budget - that we try to stay within, we travel - for business needs, we attend conferences - to learn and connect with our peers, we take classes - to stay competitive - all of the above is time bound and absolutely essential for our professional careers - and our success is tied to doing all of the above

Success in Life on the other hand - is rather subjective. For most people it is only spending quality time with your family that counts as success in life - and since most companies in the US (at least in technology) - will allow you the flexibility in working that helps you achieve that quality time - can we then say we've achieved work life balance?!

Just like at work - shouldn't we have more metrics by which to measure a successful life? Spending daily quality time with family is important, but so are other things that contribute to the term life and finding the time for these is important to be successful at life too - for e.g. -  Ensuring yearly vacation travel - to gain new experiences and broaden your horizons, timely financial planning - for retirement, your death AND your today, health and fitness - ensuring you work out for a healthier you, providing a variety of learning experiences to your child - beyond school and travel and of course shared household duties - very important in cases where both spouses work - it takes effort to make your home life run smoothly and a successful life is only possible when that effort is shared!

While most of us do spend that daily quality time with our families - do we really have all our ducks in a row when it comes to these other things - or are we sometimes prioritizing our work deliverables over these other "life" metrics. If we are - then have we truly achieved work-life balance?