Work-Life balance - A mere concept without a solution?
By Binu Paul, SiliconIndia   |   Thursday, 16 December 2010, 13:25 IST   |    6 Comments
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Work-Life balance - A mere concept without a solution?
Bangalore: If WORK is an activity done regularly for money, LIFE is everything else. There is more to life than work. The unhealthy imbalanced life choices of some people make work and life difficult.The highly competitive and busy scheduled corporate world has made 'work-life balance' a mere concept with little solution to practice especially in the IT world. You work overtime, more than 10 hours a day; you are way too busy to get off your desk for a lunch break, so you starve instead; your best friend in the whole world is your colleague; you are so very "emotionally" attached to your job that you call the office your home and your colleagues your family; and you couldn't make it for your parents' anniversary or your child's sports day, all these are some of the often-said signs of overworking and lack of work-life balance. Global delivery model would have worked wonders for IT as an industry. But to the professional, it means, being also available to the time of the team across the other side of the globe. That means attending calls and meeting at weird hours whether it be weekend or late evening. According to a research conducted by the Corporate Executive Board, work-life balance is one of the most important workplace attributes - second only to compensation. It also found that employees who feel they have a better work-life balance tend to work 21 percent harder than those that don't. There is a sharp increase in heart disease, musculoskeletal illness, workplace violence, mental or psychological strain and absenteeism among the corporate employees, which is just an outcome of improper work-life balance. It is absolutely meaningless when you workovertime to meet everyone's needs,but not your own and keep everyone happy, but not yourself. Ones should have the courage to say 'NO' to things that will take away his social life. It is not the costly services like the on-site gym or health care services that the organizations provide that ensures a better work-life balance, rather it is the 'gift of time' that is valued more. Many believe that a flexible schedule is the most important work-life practice that their employer could provide. Any work-life balance article is incomplete without the mention of smartphones. The red light flashing from the Blackberry could distract you at any important function or meeting; perhaps even at middle of the night. Many of you would have come across people answering their mails on smartphones while attending family functions or kids' school programs. The corporate world need to understand that the productivity will be much higher if the employees are allowed to re-charge, pursue other interests and generally have a life. The executives are the real wealth and they need to be taken care of. As responsibilities at home are equally important as those at work, the funs outside the office should also be given equal importance. A good work-life balance will make you feel your workplace an extend family which is an ideal scenario that can bring you satisfaction in your career and your family life.

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