The Symptoms and Impact of Lack of Work Life Balance

Do you get up from bed each morning with dread and anxiety about what faces you at work? • Do you feel like you have to make “through” each day? • Are you completely exhausted by the time you get home each night? • Do you see life as a merry go round over which you have no control? • Do you find yourself wishing you had a clone or more time to get everything you need done? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, its very likely you have a work life in-balance. Having an in-balance between your work and personal life can have very damaging effects on your health. An in-balance is basically a lack of clearly defined and consistently enforced boundaries between your work life and your personal life. When you fail to have a healthy work life balance, you end up experiencing emotional stress, anxiety, and even depression. Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor-more so than even financial problems or family problems.- St. Paul Fire and marine Insurance Co. Source: Stress at Work, published by the NIOSH. According to Stevan Hobfoll, PhD, a distinguished professor of psychology at Kent State University, "without change, everything will get worse, not better." This is very important to understand and for many of us a very difficult thing to accept. The truth is that once you allow your life to overwhelm you week after week, you open yourself up to feelings of lack of control, anxiety, exhaustion, despair, and more. You run the risk of suffering from burnout syndrome and addictive behaviors. In the end, your health, your family, and your career all become victims of this lack of balance. Symptoms of Work Life In-Balance 1. Exhaustion. When you work long hours on a frequent basis and fail to establish boundaries between your work and home life, you end up suffering from physical and mental exhaustion. As a result, your ability to think clearly and your eye-hand coordination suffers. You are less productive and more prone to make mistakes. Your mind is fuzzy, your reflexes are slower, and you are at risk of injury, liability, and even tainting your professional reputation based on slow or ineffective performance. 2. Absence. When you fail to establish boundaries between your work and home life, you end up missing important family events. Not only are you not there for ballet recitals, baptisms, or soccer games, you also miss unique moments, anniversaries, and birthdays. Your absence can really damage your relationships with loved ones and make them feel unappreciated. 3. No friendships. By spending all of your time focused on your career, you don’t dedicate any time to nurturing and growing your friendships. Friends are an essential element of your support system. They keep you from getting isolated as a result of high amounts of work and give you positive energy and support. Having a support system is key to having balance in your life, experiencing fulfillment, and having personal satisfaction in life. However, friendships need to be nurtured. Otherwise, they don’t last as long or their quality diminishes. 4. Work load increase. The more hours you work at the office and the more consistently you do it, the more work you will receive in compensation. You will get more responsibility and more projects. Now, while this may be a great step towards career advancement and a salary increase, you have to make sure it is not affecting the other aspects of your life. This is a slippery slope which can easily result in a never ending and increasing cycle of work, conce s, and pressures. Other Effects of Having No Work Life Balance Having no work life balance or an unhealthy amount of work life balance can result in persistent amounts of stress. This stress can lead to: • Cardiovascular disease • Sexual health problems • Weakened immune system • Migraines and headaches • Stiff muscles • Backaches • Acne • Depression • Weight gain • Substance addiction • Nervousness • Trouble concentrating • Forgetfulness • Irritability • Weak coping skills • Insecurities • Lowered self-esteem • Feeling a lack of control • Mental and Physical fatigue It’s easy to see how your career can affect your health. Don’t be a statistic. Take control of your schedule, your career, and your personal life. You can have both a fulfilling career and personal life. This is a very big possibility and is in your hands. You have to really want it and be willing to make changes to create the amount of work life balance that is most effective and fulfilling for you.