Why Work-Life Balance Is Important?

Having a healthy work and life balance is important not only for our overall well-being but also for those we care about. Today’s workplaces are unpredictable, putting added pressures on us which makes the thin line between work and personal life even thinner.

Here, we look at why work-life balance is important and how to achieve it in your own professional and personal life.

What do we mean by work-life balance?

When we talk about a work-life balance, we often describe it as: 

• Being able to be more productive and efficient at work, without sacrificing your health and happiness
• Positively impacting the lives of your family
• Being present in the moment
• Being able to prioritise what is important
• Being able to hold and enforce solid boundaries
• Not wanting to have it and do it all

Essentially, having a good work-life balance is about feeling content with who you are, what you do, and the choices that you make. 

Why is it important?

A better work-life balance will help you feel less stressed.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”. - William James

Workplace stress is a very real thing and a very real problem. According to NICE, stress, anxiety, and depression at work cause about 13.7 million lost workdays every year in the UK. This costs £28.3 billion in lost productivity.

You are causing greater stress for yourself when you either agree to take on additional work when you do not have the capacity or when you do not delegate work that could be delegated. Here are some options to reduce tension and worry that you are currently experiencing:

• Avoiding distractions and saying "no" to non-essential activities.
• Delegating as much of the work as possible.
• Deciding which activities should take precedence over others (and letting go of non-priorities).
• Putting your personal health and happiness first.

The end result is a burden that is easier to manage, and you will have more time to devote to the activities that are important to you. Your levels of stress and anxiety are likely to drop.

A better work-life balance will boost your mental health

“You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life" - Heather Schuck

Maintaining a healthy balance between your job and your personal life is important for your mental health. When you are emotionally and mentally stable, you have a greater capacity to deal with issues.

The human brain was never meant to be in a constant state of worry and stress. Bringing more balance into your life gives you space to think, which in turn lets ideas that have been buried deep inside you come to the surface.

When you are more self-aware about your beliefs and thoughts that lie beneath your strong emotions, you can deal with them in a healthy way, which means making better decisions. 

A better work-life balance improves your personal relationships

“Invest in your work-life balance. Time with friends and family is as important as time at work.” - Stephen Gillett

When you work too much, you have less time to spend with the people you love. On top of that, it's not quality time because you are overworked and stressed. You cannot actually pay attention to them.

A healthy lifestyle allows for more quality time spent with loved ones, including both family and friends which have an impact on both your personal and professional life. 

Spending time with your coworkers doesn’t need to be a stress-inducing activity. Remember, chronic stress is the source of both professional and personal failure.

A better work-life balance will enable you to be more productive and engaged with your work

“The key is not to prioritise what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities” - Stephen Covey

When workers are satisfied with their work and find it rewarding, they are more likely to remain loyal to their employer and participate actively in their work. Being engaged means having a strong sense of commitment to something in order to perform to the best of your abilities.

Employees that are engaged in their work are excited about it, committed to it, and involved in it. Gallup's assessment of the "State of the Global Workforce" found that only nine percent of workers in the United Kingdom were enthusiastic about their jobs and workplaces in 2022.

Employers often think, wrongly, that they can get employees to work harder by putting them under pressure. This results in working long hours plus the added stress in the name of “high performance”. It actually opens the gates for making someone drained both physically and mentally.

In fact, a person will be inspired to work more if they experience less stress and are psychologically and physically well. If you feel connected to your coworkers, you will perform at a higher level and be more involved in what you are doing.

A higher level of participation leads to better morale at work, more accountability, and better communication. We can never deny the importance of work life or the value of work and working. However, our physical health and our mental well-being depend on how we manage our work hours. 

A better work & life balance allows you to be more creative

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” - Simon Sinek

Our brain is not meant to be constantly flooded with people, emails, phone calls, and messages from social media sites. In other words, we must fully understand what it means to work to live, not live to work.

You also require space in order to think clearly and creatively. When there is an unhealthy balance between a person's work life and their personal life, creativity is threatened. A poor work life balance actually poses higher risk for all sorts of negativities. Reduce stress and you’ll see that better work outcomes are possible even with other hardships are still there!

A better work-life balance makes you happier and makes you feel more fulfilled

“To have meaningful work is a tremendous happiness”. - Rita Mae Brown

Your own contentment and sense of accomplishment are directly related to your ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Achieving a state of equilibrium means being happy with who you are and having command of your life and the decisions you make for your future. This is possible by achieving work life balance.

A better work-life balance makes you more successful

“Most people chase success at work thinking that it will make them happy. The truth is happiness at work will make you successful.” - Alexander Kjerulf

Having a work-life balance will make you more successful. It's a common misunderstanding that those who strive for success can’t maintain a healthy work-life balance. On the contrary, having a healthy balance means building a successful life on YOUR terms. 

Leading a more well-rounded life makes you a more original thinker who is also more productive in your daily activities. This means you will have a greater potential for achievement. It’s worth remembering that excellent leaders comprehend the need to maintain a healthy work-life balance not only for themselves but also for their teams.