Work affects your wellbeing in a myriad of ways, both positive and negative. It’s a topic worthy of its own book, let alone a blog article. But, I wanted to get you thinking about just how it helps and hinders your own wellbeing (it can often do both at the same time), and maybe considering one small thing that you could work on now to improve your work-life balance.
NOTE: Please don’t be fooled into thinking that if you don’t currently work, that work doesn’t have an impact on your wellbeing. If your partner works, then it does (and you may wish to work through this article with them). If you don’t currently work, but you think you’d like to (paid or volunteering), then it does (it may help you to decide what you’d like to do).
There are three key parts of life that I’ll discuss with clients trying to improve their health, fitness, and wellbeing. They are:
Family time
Work time
Me time
If we can work together to create the ideal balance between these three parts of life, whatever that might look like for them, then we’re well on the way to helping them find a lasting balance. And, more than ever recently, people have been recognising that, if they haven’t got this balance right, they can change it. A recent study in the UK by Workhuman suggested that 46 per cent of people were considering quitting their jobs within the next year, with the desire for increased flexibility cited as the number one reason.
The various lockdowns provided people with the chance to re-evaluate their priorities, and it seems that striking a better balance between work-time, family time, and me time, and improving their wellbeing as a result, is now much higher on the agenda for lots of people .
With this in mind, let’s have a look at some of the major ways in which work impacts your wellbeing, and get you considering if any of them might be things you’d like to change by posing you a range of questions about each. I’ll offer the odd suggestion too, but my intention is more to get you thinking about what’s right for you.
You might decide to read through them all before choosing one area to focus on, or you may instinctively know straight away what you need to change and just home in on that.
1. Time
Time is one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable commodity there is. Given the nature of life, we all have a finite amount and so we must use it wisely. Some questions for you to consider…
Do you think that the amount of hours you work is healthy for you?
Does the amount of hours you spend working provide you with the time you would like for yourself and your family?
And do you have the energy left after work to ensure that this time is quality time?
Do your work shift patterns enable you to balance your day well with family and personal commitments?
If no, is there a possibility of discussing flexible hours? Or flexible working to allow you more time at home?
2. Money
As the song famously said, money can’t buy you love, and it isn’t necessarily the route to happiness either (research often finds that lottery winners are no happier than the less lucky ones a short time after the initial excitement has worn off).
That said, financial wellbeing is an important part of the mix when it comes to overall health. Here are some questions for you to consider:
Does your work enable you to pay for the essentials?
Is there enough spare to spend on family and me time?
Is there enough left to save for the future?
Do you feel fairly paid for your time, efforts, and skills?
Do you feel in control of your finances? Do you have a good understanding of the amounts coming in and going out?
Is there any way to decrease your living costs? Is there any non-essential spending that can go?
Are there any ways in which you can increase the value of your time? Training courses or a secondary income that still provides you with enough time for life too?
3. Physical health
There’s no point working hard and earning money if you’re not around to spend it. Or if you’re not in good enough health to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labour. Historically, work was a physical task but, these days more and more of us spend it sat in one place for hours on end. Here are some things to consider about your work and your physical health and fitness:
Does your work affect your physical health and fitness positively, negatively, or have no influence?
If you feel it has a negative impact, is there anything you could do in and around your current work day routine to improve it?
If not, what other solutions might help you to improve your health? How could you help yourself? How might someone else help you? Who might that be?
When did you feel like your physical health and fitness was at its best? What was different then?
4. Mental health
One of the positives of the last few years has been the increased focus on people’s mental wellbeing. Your mental health is just as important as your physical and, in much the same way, there are always habits that you can work on to improve it.
Work can impact your mental wellbeing positively and negatively in a whole host of ways. And it’s not as simple as just trying to remove stress from your life completely. We often need a bit of stress to thrive. If things are too easy, we get bored but, if things are too hard, we get overwhelmed. We need to find the right level of stress for us. And that’s different for everyone. Here are some things to consider about your work and mental wellbeing:
Is your job stressful/challenging enough for you? Or, is your job too stressful/challenging for you? Or is it just right?
If the balance isn’t right, what’s the cause? Can that be changed in your current role, or would you need to go elsewhere/do something else for that to happen?
Do you feel that you cope well physically and mentally with the challenges of your work?
Does your work provide you with enough opportunities to lead a full social life? Does your job ever lead to you feeling lonely or isolated?
IMPORTANT NOTE: If any of the questions here have triggered any concerns for you, please reach out to someone to talk this through. A medical professional if you are comfortable or, in the first instance, just someone you trust to listen and understand.
5. Opportunities for growth, development, and learning
An often overlooked aspect of your wellbeing is learning new things and developing yourself. As I mentioned in the mental health section, if a job is under-challenging then it can be stressful. You get bored. The human brain craves new things, and learning has been shown to keep you physically and mentally fit as you age.
With that in mind, consider the following:
Are you regularly challenged in your role?
Do you frequently feel like you are learning new things? Are there good opportunities for you to develop with formal training and qualifications?
Can you see opportunities for you to progress from your current role?
6. Purpose and values
I’ve left this point until last but, in all honesty, it’s often the single most important thing. Having a sense of purpose in life and living in line with your values, the things that are most important to you at the deepest level, is arguably the best way to find true wellbeing.
As the famous speaker, Brian Tracy once said,
Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.
Here are some questions to help you consider how well your work reflects your values:
Does your work align closely with the things that are important to you? (If you’re not sure what’s most important to you, get in touch and I can send you a great little task on discovering your values.)
If there is some alignment but it’s not perfect, are there any small tweaks you could make (maybe to the time, money or health elements mentioned already) that would improve this?
If there’s a large discrepancy between your values and your work, is this big enough for you to consider a more substantial change?
Your work-life balance is in your hands
I know it might not always seem like it, but you ultimately have the power. As you’ve seen this year, people can talk to their employers about making changes that provide them with a better balance. And, failing that, you can vote with your feet.
What should I do with all of the information above?
Keep it simple. Pick one thing, the quickest and easiest thing to change now, and work on that. Get that snowball rolling down the hill and it will pick up pace as it goes.
If you know you want to change something to improve your balance between work and your wellbeing, but you just don’t know what, then get in touch. I’d be more than happy to have a chat with you and see if I can help. You can email me on paul@balancehealthandfitness.co.uk, or text/call on 0775 200 1203.