Gaining a Sense of Work Life Balance

Would it surprise you to hear that UK workers likely to change companies for more job satisfaction? It doesn’t me for two reason.

1. Flexibility : Once we have children (regardless of your gender) our priorities change and if your current company or working situation isn’t flexible enough then something needs to give.
2. Happiness : We spend on average more than 90,000 hours of our adult life working (insert appropriate expletives here!). I seriously cannot understand why you would do so in a job you hate.  Living for the weekends instead of your best life. There are many jobs I used to do which I don’t do anymore because I didn’t enjoy them (social media marketing manager I’m talking about you!).

A survey conducted by Cygnet Jobs, one of the UK’s leading healthcare recruitment companies, revealed that more than 1 in 2 (57%) UK adults have moved companies just to get greater job satisfaction.  As many as 38% of workers have even changed their career to do so, which is why we see such a rise in women in business, freelancers and those working from home.  Just sometimes to achieve that flexibility and happiness we desire in our jobs we have to make a complete career change. The survey, of 1001 UK adults goes on to echo what I have said with the reason for career changes coming from 1 in 3 (33%) wanting a more rewarding job, followed by 29% who felt they wanted to simply enjoy the work they did more.

Work Life Balance : 

It might feel like a myth or a buzz word branded about by smug people who have it all worked out. Adulting is hard, add a couple of kids, career, small business into the mix and it can feel damn near impossible.  Here are my top time management tips to keep everything ticking by smoothly.

• Slow Cookers : I’m seriously not kidding. I cannot tell you how much better our evenings run when we get back from after school clubs, especially on a Monday when Charlie goes out to Scouts at 7pm, having a hot meal ready and waiting.
• Write It Down :  Keeping an organised diary really does help. I use mine to keep track of work deadlines, after school clubs, play dates, school events and much more. Having it all written down in one place means I’m not likely to miss anything but also I can’t bear having information all over the place. Email, my phone, to do list, school newsletters etc … I work better having it all in one place and a pretty notebook/diary never goes a miss.
• Make Time For You : It’s so easy to get caught up with making sure everyone is sorted and never taking time out for yourself. Meet up with friends, go for a walk, have a massage, read a book, bake a cake, enjoy a hobby or even just a relaxing bubble bath. The options are endless and they don’t have to cost a penny.  But taking time out regularly to destress, self-love not only improves your mood but makes you a more productive person. 
• Have Set Working Hours : Whether your employed or working from home ensure your work life and home life are different. If these do need to collide, explain the situation to those involved. For example with so many Christmas school events happening at the moment I’m taking time away from my usual business hours meaning on occasion I have to catch up at night/during the weekend, I ensure the children understand why.  Sett working hours which everyone is aware of employer, clients, mother in laws who might pop in for a coffee! Being flexible is great but there still has to be some work achieved!

Back to my original thoughts, we work a lot of our adult life, we have to be spending that time doing something we enjoy, enjoy our downtime, enjoy our family time, enjoy our lives.  In what way do you create a work life balance? I’d love to hear your top tips.

 

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