It’s easy to become stressed, especially when trying to run a business and care for a family at the same time. We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves, plus there are the outside pressures from clients, customers, suppliers, and the public at large. It can often feel like an impossible task to get anything done to the right standard, and you’ll feel as though lots of sacrifices have to be made, including spending time with your family. The work life balance just doesn’t seem to exist.
That’s not how it should be. The work life balance (that is, striking the right level of work and time for yourself) is crucial for health, happiness, and, as strange as it may seem, productivity. The more you work the harder it will become because you’ll be tired and start to begrudge the work itself. Here are some of the main reasons why the work life balance is so important.
It’s Good For Your Relationships
If you’re working all the time then you’re clearly not spending enough time with the people who love you, and whom you love in return. They might understand why you are working such long hours and being so stressed and angry at home, but it’s not a situation that can last forever, and relationships can break down because of a lack of a work life balance.
This is crucial to bear in mind if you are stressed at home as well as at work. You might have personal problems to deal with, such as an unwell child who needed pressure sensors attached when they were born, or an elderly relative who needs additional care. If work is getting on top of you as well, you are going to have to step back and reassess the situation completely.
It’s Good For Your Mental Health
Mental health is something that people are starting to understand more and more, and they know just how important it is to keep themselves healthy, not just physically but mentally too. One of the best ways to do that is to maintain a good work-life balance. Too much work can lead to stress-related illnesses including depression and heart disease among others.
One of the issues you will most likely have heard about is burnout. Someone suffering from burnout is essentially suffering from chronic stress brought about by too much pressure being put on them, and not enough time spent away from work with family, friends, or even just by themselves.
By stepping away from work and spending quality time with loved ones, you can start to ‘re-set’ your stress levels. By the time you get back to work, your mind will be more settled and the answer you have been searching for may even be easier to find.
It’s Good For Your Physical Health
In order to be truly physically healthy, regular exercise and well-balanced meals are required. Fitting these into a normal day shouldn’t be a hard task, but if you are over-working, it most definitely can be. Instead of a healthy lunch, you might grab a quick takeout to eat at your desk. Instead of going home and creating a healthy meal, you might eat leftovers, perhaps a bag of chips and dip, some cookies, a microwave meal, or another takeout because you worked late and don’t have time for anything else.
Doing this once in a while isn’t going to hurt you (although it’s still far from ideal), but doing it regularly means you’ll soon become very unhealthy. Add to this the fact that you’re probably not finding time for exercise either and your physical health can truly suffer when you haven’t got the right work-life balance.
