When work and life COLLIDE..!!
Our lives have both high and low notes, then we will create a beautiful harmony. If the melody is made up of high notes, it will be a cacophony. And if it is just full of low notes, it will be monotonously boring.
~Sharmini Hensen (life coach and founder of Sistas Network)~
As I read today’s newspaper, The Star, I come across to put some reviews on this topic. It catches my eyes with its great title and some fine pictures there. As the topic “When work and life collide”, I’m very sure that all of you could process and brainstorm about what this will be about. Well, it is our lives. Stress. Work-life balance.
Some people might view their working lives and personal lives as two different things. For this commercial pilot, Jeff Tan, he said that his life is nothing much to do when he is not flying an aircraft. Meanwhile, advertising account executive, Phang Li Jun, he viewed that work is a part of his life which cannot be viewed separately. He said that both of the work and life do not necessarily have to be equal amount. Sometimes, one needs more than another one. Our lives could be recognized to be imbalance when we are unhappy, stressed out, frustrated or falling sick.
Definition of work-life balance :
1) Both men and women can earn a decent living and enjoy life at the same time.
2) Work-life balance depends on a person’s lifestyle whether living in cities or countryside.
3) People need to recognize what is important to them, and to prioritize that and use it as a source of motivation to live a meaningful life.
4) Work-life balance is when we get a healthful and delicious meal with right combination of ingredients in just right amounts.
Six essential ingredients in work-life balance -:
Personal Physical Professional Social Spiritual VocationalBalancing multitasking :
Our lives have become much easier with the presence of modern gadgets and support devices such as think smart phones, online banking, and domestic help. All these things are going to take over certain chores in our routine lives, but their availability can also become a source of increased stress. Today’s requirements to turn up as a being-praised worker need very high qualifications physically and mentally. We cannot depend on one single professional skill only. We need more than that. Some of them are :-
Ø The ability to work with a computer
Ø The ability to surf the Internet
Ø The ability to send e-mail
Ø Attitudes whether he or she can survive a challenging environment
Ø Be flexible
Ø Be resilient enough to withstand stress at work
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| Being a maid is not an easy job. |
Factors of stress :-
I. Increasing expectations of productivity
II. The rapid organizational changes mane workplaces are experiencing today
· Companies are changing their operations at an unprecedented speed and frequency
· Departments can be retrenched and outsourced overnight
· Employees can be relocated with short notice
· Top management can change on a yearly basis
Effect or Result :-
v It can create a lot of anxiety and stress for people who experience it.
Way to solve the problem :-
v Take off the worker’s hat once in a day.
v Reflect on the other aspects of life.
o “How I am feeling today?”
o “What are the meaningful things that have happened to me today?”
o “Do I have time to spend with my family and friends?”
These steps will help us to be more aware of our physical, emotional and mental well-being. At the same time, it will avoid health problems that could result from chronic imbalances in our lives such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol levels, obesity, and smoking.
