what is work-life balance?
think this term has been overused and under-understood. and i am reflecting this in this post as a result of a person whom i met today complaining to me that he is not enjoying his work and that he has no work-life balance. and when i asked him what his longer term goal was, he stared at me blankly. let me share my thoughts here.
to many, work-life balance means having more time for own disposal, family and friends. but is it that straight forward? for most of us, time for own, family and friends will never be enough rite? at end of the day, we might as well take away the whole thing called work. then again, we quickly recognise that when we do that, we will also end up with no life! i am sure there is no one who wants to work for work sake. rather, one works for the money to be able to sustain one's life. and if one needs a better life, one needs more monies. and to get it, one will need to work more. when this happens, one will invariably need to prioritise his time towards his work. so, work and life cannot be mutually exclusive with one another. they are symbiotic.
if this is the case, that i want to focus on what is the cause that motivates a person to tip his priorities towards work (instead of towards himself, his friends or for that matter, his family). my own personal take is that it is the sense of purpose as to why he is doing that work. this sense of purpose makes ones' work meaningful. and if one's work is meaningful, the whole idea of work-life balance does not exist as they are in harmony.
ok, so how does one achieve this sense of purpose? my view is that to have this sense of purpose (or in another word, for one's work to be meaningful to him), one need to be clear of his vision and long term goals. with this clarity, he will know how to select a profession that will allow him to move closer towards his longer term goals over time. ie, his profession choice is meaningful to him. this will make the motivation to work will come from within him and not purely from external sources such as monetary rewards or punishments (although they are important). when this is achieved, he will willingly prioritise and commit his time to his work when there is a need. in this state, he will never complain about work-life balance.
views?
ps: something to think about - how many business owner actually complains about work-life balance? i have not heard of any. to them, their work is their life. and their work is an outcome of their choice. the motivation to work comes from within them.
think this term has been overused and under-understood. and i am reflecting this in this post as a result of a person whom i met today complaining to me that he is not enjoying his work and that he has no work-life balance. and when i asked him what his longer term goal was, he stared at me blankly. let me share my thoughts here.
to many, work-life balance means having more time for own disposal, family and friends. but is it that straight forward? for most of us, time for own, family and friends will never be enough rite? at end of the day, we might as well take away the whole thing called work. then again, we quickly recognise that when we do that, we will also end up with no life! i am sure there is no one who wants to work for work sake. rather, one works for the money to be able to sustain one's life. and if one needs a better life, one needs more monies. and to get it, one will need to work more. when this happens, one will invariably need to prioritise his time towards his work. so, work and life cannot be mutually exclusive with one another. they are symbiotic.
if this is the case, that i want to focus on what is the cause that motivates a person to tip his priorities towards work (instead of towards himself, his friends or for that matter, his family). my own personal take is that it is the sense of purpose as to why he is doing that work. this sense of purpose makes ones' work meaningful. and if one's work is meaningful, the whole idea of work-life balance does not exist as they are in harmony.
ok, so how does one achieve this sense of purpose? my view is that to have this sense of purpose (or in another word, for one's work to be meaningful to him), one need to be clear of his vision and long term goals. with this clarity, he will know how to select a profession that will allow him to move closer towards his longer term goals over time. ie, his profession choice is meaningful to him. this will make the motivation to work will come from within him and not purely from external sources such as monetary rewards or punishments (although they are important). when this is achieved, he will willingly prioritise and commit his time to his work when there is a need. in this state, he will never complain about work-life balance.
views?
ps: something to think about - how many business owner actually complains about work-life balance? i have not heard of any. to them, their work is their life. and their work is an outcome of their choice. the motivation to work comes from within them.
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