Published to Newsletter on Oct 26, 2023
Theresa L. Sherman, EOD Consultant
This month, EOD looks at wellness in the workplace.
Finding and maintaining good work-life balance doesn’t just happen by accident. We must set aside time to ensure we are prioritizing the things that affect our productivity, health, and personal accomplishment. As much as we try to separate work from personal, work-life balance is the integration of our professional development and personal well-being. A career promotion, for instance, will impact your feelings of personal accomplishment in the workplace through leadership, decision-making, and strategic support opportunities, but may also positively impact the financial security of your family.
But what does work-life balance even mean? Work-life balance feels like a vague and undefined buzzword. When defining work-life balance, we must first consider that we are mostly knowledge workers. Many of us (but not all of us) are dependent on the use of our brains, rather than brawn, to complete the work. Challenges to this “knowledge work” include distractions, constant connectedness, and burnout, creating a feeling of imbalance in our lives.
A Gallup study found that organizations with a strong emphasis on employee well-being see a 46% reduction in safety accidents and a 41% reduction in absenteeism. When we can recharge away from work through travel, conversations, career exploration, hobbies, and family, our well-being at both work and home improves.
Work-life balance should not be confused with convenience though. Many of us probably felt the convenience of working from home during the pandemic through taking the dog for a walk or throwing in a load of laundry. But our work was not necessarily less stressful, and in fact, for many was probably more stressful.
EOD encourages teams to work together to define what work-life balance means to them. It may mean more or better resources to increase productivity. It may mean taking more time off or having a pizza party with team members to decompress after a big project. It may also mean having a clear succession plan for your department with opportunities for advancement and growth opportunities for team members in the form of career ladders and promotions.
EOD has two offerings this month to address work-life integration. Check out our Hungry Minds Café and Open Enrollment Course of the Month and join us in exploring this topic.
Questions? Contact EOD at eod@unm.edu.
