Work/Life Balance in the Modern Era Infographic
While work is extremely important, so are other things, such as getting enough sleep, taking care of yourself, eating and spending time with friends and family. Is work/life balance possible? Finding the perfect balance between work and leisure can be hard, but it’s definitely possible. You don’t want to slack off at work, but you also don’t want to push your family and home life to the side.
Right now, the United States ranks 30th out of 38 countries who have positive work-life balance. Maybe that’s because, according to the research, more than 11 percent of American workers say they work 50 or more hours a week. In fact, many people (33 percent) even find themselves working weekends or holidays too.
So, how much time do Americans spend on activities outside of the office? On average, people spend nine and a half hours a day on “personal care” and that includes everything from sleep to showering. After work and personal care, that leaves few hours in the day for people to get other things done such as eating and drinking (1.17 hours a day), caring for family members (0.52 hours) and doing even more work (3.61 hours).
Some of the biggest factors impacting work-life balance are bad and overbearing bosses, too much work, inflexible schedules, bad co-workers and long commutes. Unfortunately, if people don’t get a handle on some of these things, they could be setting themselves up for challenges in the future. In the long-term, work-life imbalance can lead to higher stress levels, higher risks of heart disease and depression and anxiety.
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