Have you ever considered how your work life balance affects your mental wellbeing?
Work life balance is something most people take for granted, especially in our modern day. When we work life balance for granted, our wellbeing often suffers as a result. The importance of having a work life balance is not well understood, especially in our modern society of a 9am-5pm work week. Nevertheless there are some tell tale signs which we can pay attention to in order to protect our psychological and physical wellbeing. Here are signs your work life balance is out of whack:
- You don’t plan your activity outside of work
Activities outside of work are key to having a good work life balance and positive mental wellbeing. People with poor work life balance work a typical 9am-5pm week, but often they don’t plan their activity outside of work. It’s in those moments they find their mental wellbeing is affected. The reason is because there’s a void in those moments, which is occupied by feelings of emptiness. Having meaningful activity outside of work is part of having a good work life balance which will contribute to positive mental wellbeing.
- You don’t have any hobbies
Hobbies are key to having a good work life balance. Hobbies give us meaning and a sense of purpose. A person with a good balance of activities has social as well as personal hobbies. Social hobbies are those we do with others, whilst personal hobbies are activities we do on our own. Personal hobbies which do on our own are important for having personal meaning and purpose in our lives.
- You aren’t spending quality time with family and friends
When our work is demanding we may start to neglect spending time with our family and friends which is damaging for our wellbeing in the long term. It also has the unintended consequence of shattering our relationships with our loved ones. When faced with such a situation, it is important to re-establish priorities and sometimes it may require significant changes.
- You don’t have an exercise routine
Having an exercise routine is important for maintaining positive mental wellbeing and scheduling exercise in our life routines is part of having a good work life balance. The benefits of exercise are physical as well as psychological. When we exercise we feel good because of feel good hormones which are chemicals our body releases. The added bonus of exercise is that it improves our appearance which is also a feel good boost. Most importantly, it helps stave off chronic health issues. Find out more about why exercise is key to positive wellbeing.
In summary, we can achieve good work life balance by having meaningful activity outside of work, including spending time with family and friends, introducing meaningful hobbies and having an exercise routine. Checkout the Future Learn guide on how to find a new hobby.
Check out our weekly activity planner, which can help you with planning activities.