Writing a piece about Work-Life balance for my workplace newsletter, asking for input

Bretrick

Well-known Member
This is what I have written thus far

In my previous job working at a Hay exporting business, the ownerbuilt his own large scale hay baler.
One day it was decided to increase the output and the appropriate adjustments were made.
Output was increased by 20% but no allowances were made for extra workers to deal with this increase. Alreadyworking 12 hour shifts, the extra workload had an extremelydetrimentaleffect on me. Both mentally and physically.
So much so that driving home after 6 days of 12 hour night shifts I fell asleep and hit a tree at over 100kpm.
I survived with minor injuries but came incredibly close to being a road statistic.

For many of us our life seems to revolve around work,work and more work.
The proverb - All work and no play makes Jack and Jill dull people has health implications for all of us.
In 1990, Mars got us thinking that there might be more to life than the constant grind.
A Mars a day helps you work, rest and Play.
Alvin Tofler, in his book - Future Shock, talked about how all of us are forced to participate in the rat race of life or be left behind.
Are you having dreams of your work? Do you wake up fretting about your workload for the coming day?
We need to take time out, away from our place of employment, away from our colleagues, away from the constant grind of deadlines and increased productivity.
Taking time for ourselves is imperative if we want a harmonious life.
Work/Life balance relates to our responsibilities on the job and our personal life. Personal life includes family, social and leisure pursuits.
8 hours work, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours play was first coined over 200 years ago and adopted in Victoria in 1856.
A holiday was declared, known as May Day, now known as Labour Day.
It was recognised that workers deserved fairness from their employers and as a result all employees receive gazetted holidays as part of their work contract.

Many workers are on the job for 50 hours a week and this is considered excessive.
Rising before dawn and returning home for dinner then going to bed, repeating the process every day.
This is very unhealthy as it can lead to fretful sleep. not being able to disengage the mind from work related matters.
Changing the way we approach work can have many benefits.
Better mental and physical well being, reducing stress and allowing us to reaffirm our personal relationships.
How do we improve our work/life balance?
Taking at least 3 or 4 holidays of one week duration is a very positive thing to do. Even looking forward to holidays lifts our spirits and reduces work related stress.
Ask your supervisor to not contact you while you are on holiday.
Interact with work colleagues in a positive way. This allows you to want to go to work and not dread the day ahead.
Personally, my free time is going to the John Forrest NationalPark, or Mt Observation in the Wandoo National Park.Sitting on the banks of the Serpentine River watching nature go about it's business.
Photographing Bearded Dragons or a mob of Kangaroos. Watching a pair of Galahs feeding their chicks or being in aweof the Avon River in full flood.
These are some of the things I do to unwind from work.
Knowing and engaging with your passions allows you to achieve a work-life balance which will see you refreshed and eager for the coming work week.

What I am asking for are your suggestions about how you manage work/life balance?
How do you disengage from work ensuring you have ample meaningful time away from work and spreading yourself around family and friends?
Thank you for reading this and I will consider any of your thoughts and ideas.
 

I can't help, because I managed this terribly. 50 hour weeks? Ha! I failed at the work/life balance, to my detriment.
 
I have always been an extremely well organized and fairly unflappable person. I always have a plan B, C, and maybe even D.

I am not a hyperactive Type A personality. I know a few Type A’s who are organized but I have seen them go off like an M-80 when Plan A doesn’t go precisely as planned.
 

I have done freelance work for many years but back in the day when I worked an 8 hour day (before marriage and family) I would usually meet up with friends at 6 PM at the local watering hole to rehash and unwind before moving on.

From an old song "Lucky Me" I think. "I work 8 hours, I sleep 8 hours, I keep 8 hours for fun".
 
Your post is confusing to me.
What is your current position, how long have you been there, what are current hours and other requirements, what is local labor law?
3-4 days off per week during season is unreasonable. How does overtime get compensated for?
Do you have something you can post about this assignment?
 
I had a horrible time managing work/life balance because I worked from home for the last 14 years of my career so my office was up a flight of stairs. It was difficult to "turn off" work. However, I was in management at my company so I was expected to be on 24/7.

But that does lead me to a point. Perhaps allowing employees who are not in management to work from home 1 or 2 days a week, if feasible, would help to create a better work/life balance? I didn't see that in your outline, and I'm not sure how it is received in Australia but is prevalent now in the US post-Covid.
 
OP questions:
"What I am asking for are your suggestions about how you manage work/life balance?"
Answer: Carefully and with consideration of what my priorities are in life.
"How do you disengage from work ensuring you have ample meaningful time away from work and spreading yourself around family and friends?"
Answer:
I have a) let my career suffer; b) accepted zero promotions or relocations; and c) taken lower pay or any honest job; d) got divorced, e) let the honey do list and vacations get thrown in the trash and the house fall down around us which leds to d); f) stop going to graduate school or medical school.

IMHO:

1) Parenting and making a family is NOT some sort of "recreational" side job either where you "spread yourself around enough". It is a career and if failure at this career happens kids and generations will suffer dearly.
2) Nor is parenting or family building some sort of part time job, that you can "relax" at doing, or put on the back burner, either.
That's laughable.

IMHO this whole balance issue has been debated for 100 years ad.
Things you wrote appear to me, as if they were copied out of some college textbook; courses I have taught college students.
It seems you are doing your "Cornerstone" project year of study perhaps?

"Life can be a bitch, and then you die" is an attitude worth cultivating.

Meaning you can't rob Peter to pay Paul without a "loss" something critical in quality and success of "family" life or a dream career.
 


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