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Dear Hive friend and Hive Learner Members,
When we get up from bed in the morning, it marks the start of another rat race in our lives. We always find it hard to wake up on time because we sleep late the previous night. Then, we rush to the office and, when stuck in traffic, it seems like everything is delayed and hurried. The race does not end when we reach the office; another office race awaits us. Working all day in the office, even for extended hours, does not mean the work is finished. We reach home late and go to bed after dinner. There is no time for the kids, and this becomes the daily cycle for many modern office-going people in India. I am no exception and find myself in similar situations often, always finding it hard to spare time for my kids in my daily routine, but I try my best to be with them or play with time on holidays or whenever I get some spare time.
Work-Life Balance
One and a half years ago, our management announced at an official function that they were drafting a policy to help employees achieve better work-life balance. After a couple of weeks, the news came out that management had decided to implement alternative Saturdays off. The two days off were a long-standing demand by employees, and management also thought this was important for work-life balance. However, to compensate, we have to work 40 minutes extra every day as they do not want to decrease the weekly working hours. Still, I find this a helpful decision as we get two days off every other week.
Work-life balance is important, but most of us neglect it or are forced to neglect it. In India, the work culture is not as good as in some overseas countries. According to government laws, 8 hours should be the working hours per day for the day shift. But in most places, it's extended, and people are working more than 8 hours for the same salary.
It's a Journey, Not a Destination
The balance between professional and personal life is not a target to achieve; it's an ongoing, continuous journey. Once a target is achieved, it means your work is over, but maintaining and carrying forward this balance is necessary. Most of the time, we have to work hard to maintain the schedule. Let me share an incident that happened a few years ago.
Work pressure plays a crucial role when we talk about work-life balance. The imbalance in work distribution may be the cause, or perhaps taking on projects beyond one's capacity is another reason. At that time, I was under extreme work pressure and working long hours in the office. Every day was a challenging day for me. This started affecting my health, and I suffered from headaches daily. This was the first sign, and I understood that ignoring it would lead to more severe consequences. I consulted a doctor, and after an examination, he observed that my blood pressure was higher than normal. He asked if I had any stress or tension, as this is often the cause of increased blood pressure. I shared my working conditions with him, and the first thing he told me was that if I valued my life, I needed to create a balance between work and family. He suggested I walk every day and practice some yoga techniques. I started following his advice, and it helped me greatly. I continued it for some time, but when things became normal, I became reluctant to go out for walks, and eventually, I lost the habit. But this taught me a lesson, and I always try to be on time at both the office and home.
There are some basic rules to achieve balance: discipline, creating boundaries, time management, setting goals, etc. As I mentioned, it's a continuous process that requires changes, improvements, and new goals as per the requirements. This should be a priority in our lives, but unfortunately, in today's rat race, most of us ignore it. We learned from our mistakes and experiences, I also learned form past.
Please do share your views in comment section.
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