Barriers to Work-Life Balance Come From A Variety of Sources, A New Survey Reports

Be Accessible

Achieving work-life balance can often seem impossible.  Every day can seem like a battle to make sure you are available and attentive for your colleagues and supervisors as well as your family and friends. Still, although we all experience this struggle to find a balance in our lives, most of us often try to juggle our responsibilities and manage our stress alone.

Working Towards the Balance

As many Americans attempt to balance their lives alone, it can be really valuable to see how this problem affects all of us. A recent study that asked business professionals about their own work-life balance provides some insights into the commonality of different employee experiences.

According to the survey of business professionals, the vast majority of people report failing to achieve an adequate balance. Over 60% of the respondents worked over five hours during weekends, with the majority also working over 40 hours per week.

Contributors to Work-Life Balance Failures

So what contributes to this widespread problem. According to the survey, factors that contributed to work-life balance failures. Nearly one-third of respondents attributed their struggle to personal perfectionism. Another 24% of respondents attributed the struggle to the greater workplace culture, and large proportions of the rest of respondents reported that burnout, work itself and the bosses and supervisors act as barriers to work-life balance.

“The career you choose will also dictate where you live. So, what type of environment do you like: do you enjoy city life or prefer the countryside? If you enjoy living in the country then you should choose a career that is fit for that environment. On the other hand, if you enjoy moving around and visiting different places, then you can choose a career in the tourism sector. Corporate jobs are best suited for those who like living in cities.”

Interestingly, another major barrier to work-life balance that people may be experiencing now is the lack of a physical distancing between their life and work. As more people work remotely, many have been struggling to separate their work hours from the rest of their day or hold off on home responsibilities when they are clocked in.

Luckily, this year’s work culture shift has also led many employers to explore how to help employees. The need for remote work this year has accelerated the creation of work-from-home systems at many workplaces, giving employees greater flexibility. Further, a greater emphasis on efficient and productive work versus empty logged hours may help everyone to advance their career without giving up their outside lives.

Retain Your Work-Life Balance

Even if you’ve found a career that you love, you’ll quickly come unstuck if you do not retain a good work-life balance. Keep to a healthy schedule, and adopt flexible working arrangements if you can. Take the opportunity to telecommute, and ensure that you take regular breaks throughout the day. Once you’ve established a healthy work-life balance, it’s far easier to remain productive and work on your career goals. Set yourself a workweek self-care routine, to avoid becoming lethargic and burnt out. When you’re working from home it’s particularly important to ensure that you retain a healthy schedule.

You can view more about the country’s work-life balance from the survey here. Here’s hoping we will all tip our scales for the better this year.