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.
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.
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.
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?
• 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)
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?

 Social and
Friends

Family and
Significant
Others

Work/
Volunteering

Physical Health

Spiritual and
Personal
Growth

Financial/Cash
Flow

Recreational
Hobbies/Vacati
ons
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).
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.
 Adopt organizational methods that work!
• 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).
 Make plans that work
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.
 When there are interruptions, it takes on average 20
minutes to return to our previous tasks.
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.

(Fitzpatrick, 2014; WEbMD, 2014)

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.
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.
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
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).
“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)
“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)

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.