What exactly does «work-live balance» mean? How do I find a balance between the different areas of my life? We will give you a few suggestions on this topic.
As banal as it may sound, work-life balance is about bringing the different areas of life such as work, family, friends, health, time for oneself and spirituality into balance. The goal is to satisfy our diverse needs in an optimal way.
- Certain authors prefer to speak of life balance, as the term work-life balance suggests that a clear separation of work and life is possible.
- The term can also be misleading because working life does not necessarily have to be the antithesis of leisure time. Many people experience their work as quite fulfilling and positive.
- Despite certain shortcomings, we use the term work-life balance here because it is the best established of all comparable terms.
We give more weight to some areas of life than others, depending on our stage of life. Thus, during intense phases of study or work, we have little time for ourselves, friends or family.
Although the basic idea of work-life balance seems relatively simple, its implementation in everyday life is anything but. Our own demands and expectations as well as those of others often get in the way. Many people invest a lot of time and energy in being successful, beautiful and respected. Happiness research, however, shows that such external factors only account for about 10 percent of happiness, assuming that one's livelihood is secure.
The following factors have a far greater influence on happiness:
- good social relationships
- helpfulness
- gratitude
- mindfulness
- relaxation
- exercise
Of course, the pursuit of success and prosperity can still be fun and quite meaningful. But this is only possible if the factors that are crucial for happiness do not suffer as a result. So it's the balanced mix that counts.