How to Share your Time between Career and your Family?
You are not the only one under Career-Family conflict but a little effort on your part can actually fetch you the best of both worlds. Sometimes a ‘no’ is better than a ‘yes’. Know your limits and do not step over it.
This work-family conflict has for long tormented innumerable individuals juggling their family and career responsibilities. Some have done so with little success while others landed with uncompromising failure. There has been long discussions which are nothing but futile because nothing can help you other than yourself. It’s your life and you know what you want, where do you want to see yourself and how do you want to see yourself ten years from now? Whether it is something like holding an official position in some career or leading the life of a home-stay spouse looking after the family all their life giving up all dreams.
How to set a balance in your work life?
However, you do not have to necessarily choose only one between the above mentioned two options every time. All you need is a tiny bit of planning that will help you secure a balance in your work life. Now, you will have to follow few things in order to enjoy a balanced work life:
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Life can be tricky sometimes. The knowledge of a more experienced person is always helpful in making important decisions in life. Always consult this extra hand knowledge, called, mentor.
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Set your priorities clear. At any point in life when you will have to take a stand sacrificing higher opportunities in either family life of work life, just to maintain the cord of balance, a clear definition of ‘success’ to you, comes in very handy.
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Do not over estimate your capacity, especially while planning for future leave a scope for on spot improvisation when unforeseen situation calls for.
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Learn to be firm in your decisions. Make informed decisions and then stick to it no matter what.
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You cannot have everything in life so learn to say “no” few things, when you see that availing higher prospects in one sector is costing heavily on the other.
In handling work life stress one can try out methods like: Part time work, Compressed Work weeks, Flexible Working hours and Compensated reduction of working hours.
Time management
This again is a complex topic. The definition of a healthy ‘working environment’ has changed during the course along with the access to work life. Present market of cut throat competition leads to the employment of only multi-skilled people, highly adaptable people and people who can work more to produce more. But this again means that a person needs to devote more time to hold on to a position in career life which automatically decreases the family time. Hence jotting down a schedule for you helps to have a realistic time management plan.
Here are few things that you will need to know. Time management in work life depends on three other factors namely:
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Time balance– Equal timing for both sectors is an ideal situation in the present scenario with less chances of fulfilment.
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Satisfaction balance– This depends on the comparative roles played by a person in both sectors. If he/she is in a healthy relationship with people of either sector only then can there be satisfaction balance.
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Involvement balance– This refers to the psychological commitment of the person to the playing of the roles which he/she is supposed to play in both sectors.
In depth, investigating prevailing demographics of European Union’s based workers in relation to their work and familial composition shows that majority family have the structure of guardians with active career lives within the age group thirties to forties with children. Hence, the basic concern of family responsibilities revolves around the child. Countries like:
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Luxembourg,
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Romania and
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Malta
Have highest numbers of working hours while those of others like:
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France
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Ireland
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Finland
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Italy
Have the lowest number of working hours.
Reference:
https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/e-facts/e-fact-57-family-issues-work-life-balance
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-78-09-908/EN/KS-78-09-908-EN.PDF
Health Implications of conflict
The negative implications of career-family conflict may arise due to extreme levels of physical and emotional exhaustion along with accelerated rate of tension and anxiety. This adds to the worsening of a person’s medical status with poor appetite, perpetual mood of depression and fatigue and because of these factors that the person has high tendencies for developing drinking habits or other sorts of drug addiction. It is this kind of lifestyle that suggests an overall failure to handle the expected roles of both personal and public life. Irrespective of gender, the conflict then is grounded in lower personal accomplishments and also depersonalisation which if handled meticulously can be avoided.
