28 Sep
We had been hearing the term “Work-life balance” since quite a few years now but actually, if we sit back and analyze, there is nothing like work-life balance. It’s just Life and work is one part of it as any other dimension of your life like family, friends, etc. These are not two mutually exclusive things but very integral to each other. The very usage of the word “balance” creates a lot of unnecessary stress. When almost one-third of one’s life is spent at the workplace, aiming for an equal proportion is like preparing yourself for failure.
We should rather just talk about “Life Balance “ and creating a harmony between all the dimensions of our lives including work, family, friends, self- learning and soul- rejuvenation through pursuing hobbies, meditation, traveling, etc
Perhaps “Work-life balance” is being talked about so much because we assumed that we cannot be happy and joyful while at work and it is something to be experienced beyond work. In fact, a lot of organizations feel pride claiming that they provide work-life balance to their employees and project it as one of their differentiators. Organizations should rather focus on creating work environments where employees feel Happy and Inspired.
It is said that Companies with happy employees outperform the competition by 20%, and happy salespeople close 37% more sales.
According to a study by the University of Warwick, when leaders invest in promoting happiness in the office, productivity levels can rise up to 12 percent.
Happiness is indeed a necessity for creating a productive workforce. According to International leadership advisor and author Annie Mckee, there are clear neurological links between feelings, thoughts, and actions. When we are unhappy our brains tend to disengage, effectively decreasing our capacity for creativity, critical thinking and a wide range of other core functions.
Happiness is gaining importance not only for Organizations but also for countries like UAE, who has put this on their Nation Agenda. UAE Government aims to make the country amongst the top five happiest countries in the world by 2021 and has also appointed a Minister of Happiness and wellbeing, https://www.happy.ae/en
In our next blog, we will see how to define Happiness at the workplace and measures to achieve the same.
