This document discusses work-life balance and strategies for achieving it. It defines work-life balance as experiencing enjoyment and accomplishment through balancing work, family, and other life roles and priorities. It examines the benefits of work-life balance like greater fulfillment, health, productivity and stronger relationships. It also explores identifying life roles and priorities, using time effectively, and modeling work-life balance. The goal is to help individuals navigate work and life demands to experience satisfaction in all areas.

1. WORK LIFE BALANCE

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• To introduce key concepts related to work life balance
• To examine roles and life priority areas that are part of
work life interactions
• To consider specific time strategies that may be helpful
in encouraging healthy work life interactions

3. WORK LIFE BALANCE
“Make sure that you work enough to support your family, but be
sure that you still have a life!”
Lea Peterson, Age 14
Involves a balance between the demands (and enjoyments) of
the job and the healthy management (and enjoyment) of life
outside work.
Work-life balance is a daily effort to make time for family, friends,
community participation, spirituality, personal growth and self
care.
Healthy work life balance enables employees to feel they are
paying attention to all the important aspects of their lives (CCSHOS,
2008).

4. CITED BENEFITS OF WORK LIFE
BALANCE
Fulfillment: People who successfully implement work life
balance improve their sense of fulfillment at work and at
home.
Health: A healthy work life balance decreases stress and
risks associated with physical and mental health
conditions.
Greater productivity: Being refreshed and well rested
increases productivity and work performance.
Stronger relationships: Personal and professional
relationships are strengthened and conflicts are avoided
when there is work life balance.

5. WORK LIFE BALANCE
INTERACTION
Work life balance is now becoming known as healthy work-life
interaction
Healthy work life interaction varies from one individual to another
It may also vary over time during different phases of life and there is no
perfect, one-size fits all solution (Alsup, 2013)
Work Life Balance is experiencing a sense of enjoyment and
accomplishment in the interaction of the multiple roles and
priorities within one’s life activities.

6. WORK LIFE BALANCE
INTERACTION
Healthy work life balance or interaction
contributes to having a sense or experience of
Enjoyment and Achievement.
Enjoyment includes satisfaction, happiness, a
sense of wellbeing, and joy in living.
Achievement includes accomplishment,
confidence, a sense of success, and completion.

7. WORK LIFE ROLES
• Roles are functions of life that reflect
what we expect of ourselves.
• Many are central to our lives and are
easy to identify: Parent, spouse,
partner, manager, employee, mentor,
colleague, student, son or daughter,
friend, coach, community worker, etc.

8. EXPLORING WORK LIFE
ROLES
Create your list of roles by reflecting on the following questions:
1.What are my current responsibilities?
2.What am I accountable for in my life?
3.What do I do during the day and on weekends?
4.What would I call the roles I am playing as I am doing each of
these activities?

9. UNDERSTANDING WORK
LIFE ROLES
• Provides a framework for defining the actions that are important to
us.
• Helps us focus on what priorities need more time and attention
• Motivates us to increase our time and attention to things that
matter (Alsup, 2013)

10. CONNECT WITH WORK
LIFE PRIORITIES
A priority is something that is important to you and that needs your
attention in the present.
•What are the essential components to a quality life?
•What are you truly passionate about in life?
•What do you value most?

11. THINK ABOUT
Work Life Priority Areas
•Are there any life priority areas you would add to
this grouping that contribute to life purpose and
vision?
•Using the Activity II description sheet, identify your
top three priority areas at this point in time.
•How do you feel about each priority area in terms
of your Work Life Interactions?
Social and
Friends
Family and
Significant
Others
Work/Volunte
ering
Physical
Health
Recreational
Hobbies/Vacat
ions
Financial/Cas
h Flow
Spiritual and
Personal
Growth

12. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
INVESTING IN WORK
LIFE PRIORITIES
Time is finite. The process of using time effectively
becomes possible when it is viewed as a commodity
that we can choose to spend or invest.Making the
decision to invest time according to our priorities not
only supports the effective use of each moment, but
also contributes to a life journey that is more
enjoyable and successful (Fulcher, 2008).

13. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
BE AWARE
Keep a time journal to collect data on how time is
being spent in a typical week. Could also include
keeping track of your moods, conflicts and contexts.
This will allow you to spot patterns and situations
that trigger your stress (Tartakovsky, 2013).Know what is
essential and, if necessary, set clear time
boundaries between work and life routines.

14. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
BE ORGANIZED
• Some people use a technology-enabled approach
with personal digital assistants (PDAs), shared
online calendars, or project management software,
in order to be organized. Others prefer to put pen to
paper and use hard-copy lists and organizers. Find
out what organizational methods work for you and
your team (Packroo 2014).
Adopt organizational methods that work!

15. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
BE PLANNED
Break projects into manageable
segments.Create “To Do” lists and assign
deadlines.Do high priority work when you work
best.Schedule hard work during your “up” time.
Know how to recharge your energy! (Reddy,
2001)Set times that are focused on work and life
priorities.
Make plans that work

16. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
BE FOCUSED
Drop activities that take too much time or energy: Do all of our activities
add value to our lives and those of others? For example, spending time
listening to gossip takes energy and impacts our attitudes. Manage online
exchanges: Sometimes we become caught up in continuously checking
and responding to online social exchanges both during our work and
personal times.Learn to say “no”: Sometimes work life balance means
saying “no” and clearly communicating our limits and boundaries.
When there are interruptions, it takes on average
20 minutes to return to our previous tasks.
(Fitzpatrick, 2014; WEbMD, 2014)

17. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
BE REFRESHED
Take healthy breaks: Take time to refresh yourself. Try stretching, walking
or meditating throughout the day. Spend time in places that are quiet and
uplifting: Be beside water, listen to the sounds of nature around you, or
clear your mind of the speed and complexity of life to experience small
blessings.Take time to redeem energy: Use vacation days. Working to the
point of burnout and not performing well has few benefits over the long-
term.Spend time without electronic communications: Allot private time
without the use of technology or the need to immediately check
communications as messages arrive.

18. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
BE CONNECTED
Check in to see how those who are closest to you are doing. Make time to
send a note or text, or call to say have been thinking about others.In
your calendar, initiate a regular activity or plan to do something
together with your spouse, family or close friends.Schedule and attend
important events and activities that involve those closest to you.Commit
time to giving to others. This may involve volunteering in activities to
help those who you do not know, or carrying out an act of kindness for
those on your street or in your neighborhood.

19. EFFECTIVE USE OF
TIME:
BE WELL
Make time in your schedule for wellness: Begin walking or adopt a
physical activity routineBegin opting for healthier food choices, one choice
at a timeAim to get enough sleep each dayAttend to regular physical
health checkupsJoin with others in making small steps towards wellness

20. THINK ABOUT
Priorities and Time Strategies
•What roles or life areas did you think about in
terms of work life balance or interaction?
•What time strategies might be helpful in
encouraging increased healthy work life interactions
?

21. MODEL WORK-LIFE
BALANCE
Managers who pursue work-life balance in their own lives
model appropriate behaviour and support employees in
their pursuit of work-life balance.
They create a work environment in which work-life balance
is expected, enabled, and supported.
Holding discussions within workplace teams provides an
opportunity for identifying challenges and strategies for
encouraging healthy work-life balance (Heathfield, 2014).

22. FULLY INTEGRATED
PROFESSIONALS
“There is a new norm emerging. There is a subtle shift occurring, evoking
compassion and balance in the workplace. This one is so warmly and
wonderfully subtle we could easily overlook its importance. More and more
people are talking about their families openly at work, gatherings and
associations, but now it’s different. We are starting to see more fully
integrated professionals.
This piece about communicating and sharing more about one’s life is a major
shift. It goes far beyond “Billy hit a homerun” or “Mary is in honors classes”.
Instead, professional men and women in leadership positions are talking
about their families...
Now they are weaving their stories and insights from this part of their lives;
sharing how it has influenced them professionally in how they lead and the
choices they make. We are starting to see more fully integrated
professionals”.
(FORBES 2013)

23. WORK LIFE NAVIGATION
“Another term I sometimes use is work/life navigation. In sailing there’s a term
called “sounding” – it’s when you put the pole down into the water to
determine how deep it is. That’s what work-life navigation is: you’re constantly
“checking in” with the people in your life. It is fluid and you have to navigate
through it. You are constantly reorienting and reconfiguring the logistics in
your life to make it all work. There’s a constant shifting due to changes in
one’s life.”
(Plexico & Miller, 2011)

24. TALK ABOUT IT
With someone close to you, share the definition of work life balance as given
in the presentation.
In the broadest sense, work life balance is experiencing a sense of enjoyment
and accomplishment in the interaction of the multiple roles and priorities
within one’s life activities.
Ask others about their approaches to work life integration.
Share lessons learned about how to navigate work life roles and priorities to
ensure balance, wellness, and enjoyment of life.