Work-life Balance and Mental Health-Examining Anxiety Surrounding Professional Life.
It is believed that working individuals in America spend less time on their own personal care outside of work when compared to some other countries. Americans are below the average on the amount of time they spend doing leisure activities. Stressors surrounding finances, and childcare are factors in how much the average American decides to work. When we don't prioritize well being outside of work, we then jeopardize how we show up in multiple areas of life as a result. This article with acknowledgment of these trends will also look at how to regain more of a work-life balance.
1.) Advocating for yourself and needs
Sometimes difficulties surrounding work-life balance comes down to not communicating needs. Individuals may be scared to express what is going on in their personal lives to where they would need extra support. However if something in personal life is impacting professional performance and productivity, then it is important to communicate. When communicating one doesn’t have to give a full explanation about what is going on to get a point across. It is important to note that the right managers and people will understand that employees have a life outside of work duties, they should be doing what they can to help you meet your own needs to be effective. They can't help employees when concerns are not directly communicated. If an individual feels like they are not getting supported by management then it is also important to communicate that and advocate for the needs not being received.
2.) Setting Intentions During Breaks and Self- Care Activities
The main purpose of engaging in self care is to feel rested and filled up with energy. If self care however feels like more of a task that needs to be checked off of the list, then that is not going to be of benefit. Set a value and intention as to what you are trying to get out of a self-care activity. A self-care activity also doesn't need to be something extravagant like a facial or spa trip. It can be just setting time out of the day to breathe or engage in a mindful activity for 10 minutes. As long as you are enjoying it and getting something positive out of it, then it is worth it.
3.) Examining your routine:
Individuals feel stuck in the mundane routine of waking up and going to work everyday just waiting for the weekend to arrive. People think that they can't take breaks during the work week or engage in activities that they would like to do during the work week. While the window of opportunity is more limited potentially during the work week, time can still be dedicated to taking breaks. Just like there is a checklist of items that need to get done for the position in a day, there should also be breaks added to that. Items on the work check-list won't be done as effective if you engage in them without feeling okay. So incorporating breaks into the schedule will be beneficial in a multitude of ways.
If you are interested in more ways in which you can better your health and find more of a work/life balance in life, we are here to help. Here at Inward Counseling we can help work with you on the anxiety that you experience. We see people for individual, couples, and family work. If you are interested in learning more about what we do please feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing if we can help.
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