Work-life balance losing its buzz

GLOBALLY, the emphasis on health has been put at an all-time high. Employers have begun to see the bane and counter-productiveness of their staff stuffed in their office cubicles, clicking and typing away way beyond regular office hours.
The fact that fixed office hours are still observed and adopted in many conventional offices and by bosses who feel compelled to think that more hours in the office equal more output isn't helping.
The younger generation who take up jobs are not afraid to state their stand on work-life balance and they are pretty firm on this for healthier living. Healthy employees produce quality output.
One does not need to be a specialist sitting in hospital suites, dishing out advice for big bucks, to tell you that there is a direct correlation between stress and health. Lack of work-life balance can lead to stress.
Why is it so hard to understand the need for work-life balance? The notion that people must be constantly working in order to be worthy is often perpetuated by a range of pressures.
These days, work-related WhatsApp groups are created for just about everything and when you are added, one feels duty-bound to be the first to reply in a game of who-hits-it-first. The competition is, often at times, an overkill. The obsession to be seen as working can wear you out.
We have phone apps vibrating or singing your favourites tunes to remind you every other hour or so that you need to take a break. I find this extremely useful but do we need technology to remind us about what we need for our body?
Stress can kill you, and it is now scientifically proven. According to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, men working demanding jobs with little control over their workload are more likely to die early even if they maintain a healthy lifestyle with exercise, controlled weight and blood pressure, and no smoking.
The findings revealed that men who experience job strain, having high work demands and low control over them, have a 68% greater risk of premature death.
"Work is a common source of stress in adulthood, triggering natural stress responses that were programmed in our bodies generations ago," said Mika Kivimaki, professor at the University College London.
The common stress factors at work may include low salaries, excessive workload, fewer opportunities for growth and advancement, work that is not engaging or challenging, lack of support from peers and superiors, insufficient control over decisions, unclear demands and expectations and a whole range of others.
The first thing to do in addressing work-related stress would be to differentiate what is within your control and act on them. For those that are beyond one's ability to address, you need to internalise a system of resilience and stamina to withstand its constant or occasional interference and interface with your work and life.
I came across an article in LinkedIn in which a physician makes a telling statement to all his staff when things really go stressful. "It's just a job," he announces.
His contention is no matter what you do, no matter how important your job seems, it shouldn't define who you are.
A good yardstick of how you are dealing with your work and life would be how much sleep you are losing over your job-related worries.
Thinking rationally, most of us know that worrying won't accomplish much or resolve anything, and yet it is hardly an effective strategy or reason to simply tell yourself to stop worrying.
The economic downturn that hit the nation in 2008, as well as the tendency for people to live longer and healthier lives than ever before, have both contributed to a tendency for employees to choose to stay in the workplace longer, delaying their retirement.
By 2024, about 25% of the workforce is projected to be over the age of 55. That compares with only about 12% of the workforce in 1994. In fact, in some workplaces, 55 doesn't even begin to signify the time to retire. Those in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s also are deciding to stay in place either full-time or part-time.
This trend has resulted in a new phenomenon where there are more generations in the workplace. In fact, today, many workplaces are composed of five generations.
With this, the newer generations' demand in needing a job and money to live life meaningfully while pursuing their passions requires employers that are increasingly looking at newer approaches to dealing with productivity and performance at work, without compromising on the need on work-life balance.
In this context, with a prime minister still in office at 93, retirement and old age needs to be redefined. The Western literature's arbitrary definition of old age as people above 65 must be rejected with the breakthroughs in medicine and public health, nutrition and wellness where longevity has been steadily increasing.
As they say, balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com