Work-Life Balance – No Measure of Cost

An article which recently caught my eye entitled “5 signs your people don’t have work-life balance” triggered my interest once again in blogging about this topic.  (See my earlier post). 

One doesn’t have to look far to find someone in their life whose work-life balance is, putting it nicely, far out of proportion – usually with the “life” area suffering from lack of attention.  I must admit that I have struggled with this all of my life.  My natural tendency has always been to put work at the top of my “todo” list (…that is IF I even bothered to make a list!).  In my earlier years there was no question about where my priority was – work, work, work – and coming in a distant forth and beyond everything else.

Fortunately now, for those around me, I have a far better balance between my work and “the rest of my life”.  The resulting change in my well-being has been significant – but there were many lessons I needed to learn before reaching some semblence of balance.  (Like the trauma of a failed business and a stressed marriage to start with).   

There is a high cost associated with Work-Life Imbalance – both to employee AND employer.  For an individual such as an independent software developer – it can be huge!  I have never seen any indications that burn-out, health issues or relational problems has ever helped boost productivity!  Regardless of ones occupational position, the maintenance of work-life balance is critical for employers to recognize and encourage.

It’s NOT easy to achieve however!