How much money do you have to make before you can sacrifice your work-life balance? This is a really important question. Are you really willing to make the trade-off? Is it worth it?
How often do you talk to your family, friends, and significant other about your work-life balance? Gossiping, venting, or complaining about work-related frustrations has become a popular topic at college or high school get-togethers. It’s hard to trust someone who is so engaged that you can confide in them about your boss. No matter how close you are, you never know when backstabbing will benefit them, and whether they will choose you over those benefits.
Too often, our need is to have some time with ourselves, our family, friends or loved ones to feel like we are really living. But when we are in the working mode of surviving each day, it is difficult to choose the moments to live. Most employees choose their jobs and choose to sit and hold their heads, regretting the important moments with important people that you will never get back, but are not brave enough to leave their jobs or opportunities for advancement to make time for those important people.
“75% of employees plan to find a new job to maintain work-life balance.”
There seems to be a renewed interest in work-life balance among the American workforce. According to The Muse’s 2023 User Survey released in April, more than 75% of respondents are planning to look for a new job in the next 12 months to better understand their work-life balance, and work-life balance is the most important job quality that 70% of workers are looking for this year.
“How do today’s employees balance their work and life?”
With the importance of life on a higher level, the question is, what is work-life balance like today? How is it different from the past? Being able to strike a balance doesn’t just mean making time to do the laundry, iron the clothes, or put away the stuff in the room. It means making time to attend your child’s school events, have dinner together at a family restaurant, or simply stay home and relax without having to worry about work-related phone calls. Work has become a holiday distraction that tries to interrupt your mental relaxation. There’s no denying that many times, even though our eyes are glued to the TV while we’re laying on the couch on Sunday, our minds are still thinking about the work we have on Monday.
“Work-Life Balance, in other words, is not willing to work hard.”
Kathryn Minshew, founder and CEO of The Muse, says she’s spoken to some CEOs who interpret work-life balance as an unwillingness to work too hard. While that may be true for some, working too hard can often undermine the balance and boundaries we set for ourselves, others define balance as having more freedom or flexibility in how we talk about when we work and when we live.
“Accept lower pay to regain work-life balance.”
The Muse once again surveyed its users to find out about their thoughts on work-life balance. The survey of 1,600 US workers found that work-life balance is very important to them – 83% of respondents said they would be willing to accept slightly lower pay to regain work-life balance. They also found that their work performance improved significantly, as measured by their productivity and the effectiveness of their work.
“Choose your life goals over your career goals.”
Less than half of respondents said they would work harder than their peers and make personal sacrifices to achieve their career goals, a trait that is essential to advancing their career or professional goals. However, Gen Z and Millennials are slightly less likely to agree, and they prioritize their personal lives over their career goals alone.
Conclusion
The most widely discussed definition of work life balance is the flexibility and freedom to choose personal needs during the normal working day or weekends, or in other words, the time spent at work does not interfere with the time spent in personal life.
Having a clear definition of your work-life balance can help you establish clear boundaries about how much of your life you want work to take up, as everyone’s priorities vary. Singles may prioritize work more than couples because they don’t have to dedicate time to their significant other, or they may allocate a smaller portion of their work to work because they want to have more time for their hobbies.
“Balance is about flexibility, independence, and the ability to support personal life without sacrificing professional goals.”
At this point, I want to ask you again, how much money do you have to make before you can sacrifice your work-life balance?
Reference :
Most Workers Say No Amount of Money Would Make Them Sacrifice Work-Life Balance
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