Strike a balance between individual's work and personal life

The inquiry result reveals that  the software engineer was concentrating  on his official work more as a result less concern was shown towards his family life.

On the other hand Secondary school Teacher was showing more interest in his personal life and less concern was shown in his school work.

As a result both of them were  much worried and could not achieve happiness either in work or in personal life. Then I realised the need for striking a balance between Individual's Work and Personal life.

Achievement and Enjoyment are the two faces of the coin of value in life.  We cannot get the full value from life without both Achievement and Enjoyment. 

 At work, we can create our own best work-life balance by making sure that not only we achieve but also reflect the joy of the job and the joy of life everyday. 

If nobody pat  on our   back today, pat yourself on the back and help others to do the same.   This naturally attracts people to us.

If we focus on Achievement and Enjoyment as key components of our day, they are not that hard to implement.  Balancing between work and life is indeed a Herculean task.

Many of suffer from role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, role stress and role strain.  There is a need for everyone to understand the concept of  role performance.

In all types of jobs achieving job satisfaction, accountability  and  securing staff morale appears to be   very important to achieve Work-Life Balance. 
 
Many teachers and others are experiencing "burnout" due to over-work and increased stress.  This condition is seen in all occupations from blue collar workers to white collar management.

Over the years a rise in work place violence and increase in levels of absenteeism as well as other problems are all evidence of an unhealthy work life balance.  Constant struggle and effort to maintain a balance between the work and personal life can have serious implications on the life of an individual. 

According to a survey, 81 per cent of the respondents have admitted that their jobs are affecting and creating stress in their personal lives.  The pressure of the work or personal life leads to stress. 

According to the studies, it has been found that in such situations it will affect people both physiologically and psychologically.  Heart ailments, cardiovascular problems, sleep disorders, depression, irritability, insecurity, poor concentration and even nervous breakdowns are becoming common among the victims of such imbalance.

Pressure, stress or tension in work life can lead to bad social life and vice-versa.  

Solutions: 

Many experts have given different solutions to this problem.  Time management is one of the best solutions which can help to reduce the imbalance between personal and the work life of the teachers/ employees. 

Prioritising the tasks and planning the activities can help to take some free time which can be utilised for other purposes.
 
Taking some time out for hobbies and leisure activities, spending time with dear ones can help to beat the stress. 

Seven tips to bring work life balance:

Do not plan on doing too many things. Prioritise your work.    Learn how to say 'No'. Organise. Use technology. Avoid overdoing the work and Do what you can and enjoy.

Dr N N Prahallada,
-Associate Professor in Education, RIE, NCERT, Mysore.