Work-life balance is one of those phrases that often gets negative responses like; it’s not attainable, forget about it, balance doesn’t exist or it’s a myth. It also gets renamed to terms like work-life blend, work-life integration, work-life harmony. If we are talking about having our work and personal life coexist, it doesn’t really matter what we call it. What matters is what the term means to you.
I think we can all agree that the term work-life balance does not literally mean trying to equally distribute your time between work and your personal life. Years ago, the term was used to make sure workers were getting a needed day off; where they were able to rest and not have to think about work. Fast forward to the digital age and now we have continual access to work. We can now be ‘on’ 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The whole idea is to get off the hamster wheel and stop thinking about how you can achieve balance and instead think of it as a necessary step to develop a life you want and need. You must be intentional about developing habits and applying principles that help you to find your balance. When you are living a balanced life, you are living a whole life, where all the parts function well together.
Work-life balance is not about having an equal amount of time between work and your personal life. It’s about not having work consume your life. It’s about being able to work and maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit. If you’re physically healthy you have the stamina and drive to function at a high level. If you are emotionally healthy you are more resilient and can manage your stress better. If you are spiritually filled, no matter what the challenges are, you are at peace and your purpose and passion are fueled by your desire to make a difference.
One reason, according to an article by Tait Shanafelt, is that work-life integration is one of the key drivers of physician burnout. Physicians were found to be twice as likely as the general population to be dissatisfied with work-life integration. This is thought to be in part due to the long work hours and the inability of a full-time physician to find time to integrate their personal and professional lives.
This is even more difficult for female physicians and providers who also deal with the societal demands of taking most of the responsibility for child rearing and household responsibilities. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that 60% of mothers working full time say it is very to somewhat difficult to balance the responsibilities of their job and their family. While an answer may be to reduce the work hours, this is not always wanted or feasible.
Work-life balance is individual and must be defined by the person who is seeking it. First you must define what it means to you and then determine what that looks like. So, ask yourself:
Work-life balance is not one size fits all. You are responsible for how you want your own work-life balance defined.
Talking with a Peer Coach from VITAL WorkLife can help you assess your work-life balance, find what works for you and set boundaries. Learn more about your peer coaching benefit on the VITAL WorkLife App and contact us at 877.731.3949 to access your Well Being Resources today.
Lisa Herbert, MD, is an Executive Leadership Coach and Peer Coach at VITAL WorkLife. Learn more about Dr. Herbert on her website, Just The Right Balance, and purchase her book, Take Back Your Life: A Working Mom’s Guide to Work-Life Balance.
Contact us online to learn more about how we can support your physicians and providers with well being solutions.
Shanafelt, TD. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Executive Leadership and Physician Well-Being; Nine Organizational Strategies to Promote Engagement and Reduce Burnout. January 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27871627