Myths about Work-Life Balance
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Myths about Work-Life Balance
What do you think of when you hear the term “work-life balance”?
Work-life balance is a buzzword that gets thrown around and often in a negative way. In today’s episode, I want to bust 4 myths about work-life balance and then discuss what work-life balance actually is. We are all striving for a more balanced life, but can’t do that if we aren’t clear on what work-life balance really means.
4 Myths of Work-Life Balance:
Balance means equal
Balance tends to get a bad reputation because people incorrectly assume that the term “work-life balance” means that the amount of time and energy we spend on work needs to be equal to the amount of time and energy we spend on life.
It looks the same for everyone
We can’t simply look at someone’s approach to work-life balance and replicate it for ourselves.
It’s up to your employer to give you work-life balance
This is where so many employees fail to create the work-life balance they want. Although it is an amazing thing to work for supportive supervisors or organizations with amazing work-family policies, the goal of an organization is to get as much productivity out of its employees as possible.
You can have it all
The goal of work-life balance is not so that you can “have it all”; and really, having it all is not truly possible. Due to the limited nature of our resources such as time, energy, and money, sometimes we will have to make sacrifices to pursue our goals.
Actual definition of work-life balance: “being actively engaged in and having a sense of competence and satisfaction across life roles in accordance with personal values” (Hirschi, 2020, p. 2).
Make sure you listen to the full episode!
If you’re interested in creating a work-life balance characterized by simplicity, joy, and beauty, why don’t you start by checking out my Elegant Balance Workbook? In it, I help you define what work-life balance looks like for you and share some tips on creating that balance. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it – Balance doesn’t happen by accident.