I’ve written about the importance of balancing our days between work and personal time; as well as the importance of taking breaks during the work day. I encourage people to schedule breaks on their calendars to get up and move around; to go outside for five minutes in the sunshine. I believe all of this is crucial to well-being.
But recently, I heard a viewpoint on how difficult it can be for some workers to do these simple things on a daily basis.
Then, someone else offered a caution on how some types of workers may resent someone trying to convince them to take breaks to offset the grind of their daily work. I was surprised. This statement helped me realize that not everyone’s job will scheduled breaks during the day.
Why might encouraging people to take breaks be resentful?
Because some just may have no choice in the matter. I empathize now for the people who have no time for daily balance.
Marissa Mayer, president, and CEO of Yahoo has this viewpoint: “I think that burnout happens because of resentment. That notion that, ‘Wow, I worked 100 hours last week, and I couldn’t even have this thing that I really wanted.’ So, find your rhythm, understand what makes you resentful, and protect it. You can’t have everything you want, but you can have the things that really matter to you.And thinking that way empowers you to work really hard for a really long period of time.”
Work and Personal Priorities
There will be days where work requires 110% of one’s time. Some of these days mean no time for balancing personal responsibilities. Deadlines or multiple projects or the boss and coworkers requiring attention right now means personal priorities must wait.
It makes me wonder if daily work/life balance is a fallacy.
The balance is like a teeter-totter. Is it even possible for both ends to balance in the center? Each end of the balancing board will have its ups and downs. Some days the job side of the board will be up in the air and the personal side of the board will be down on the ground. Other days vice versa.
Ev Williams, the co-founder of Medium and Twitter said:
“Take care of yourself. When you don’t sleep, eat crap, don’t exercise, and are living off adrenaline for too long, your performance suffers. Your decisions suffer. Your company suffers. Love those close to you: Failure of your company is not failure in life. Failure in your relationship is.”
I still believe people need to seek balance, regardless of what industry or role they’re in. Although, now I realize finding the balance is an individual challenge. Finding work/life balance will change day by day depending on the responsibilities at hand.
But, in order to alleviate burnout and stress which will lead to physical ailments, adjustments must be made one way or another.
My article titled Fighting Fatigue in the Workplace in The Startup publication shows suggestions on how to fight fatigue in the workplace. Find the time in order to alleviate stress, whenever possible.