The importance
Life is all about balance. Working 5 days a week can be a high-stress environment that can at times take over our personal lives. There is no doubt that work lives play a big emotional part in our overall outlook on life, with tight deadlines, late evenings, busy days, the rise of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, makes it difficult for business leaders to disconnect from work and take a break.
A healthy work-life balance differs in each of us. It’s not so much about splitting it 50/50, but making sure you feel fulfilled and content in both areas of your life.
A healthy balance could be:
- Meeting your deadlines at work and still having time for friends and hobbies
- Having a good sleeping pattern to get that well-earned rest and eating a well balanced diet.
- Not thinking or worrying about work when you’re at home.
Is my work-life balance unhealthy?
- Pause. Often, we don’t take the time to reflect on work. Is there anything causing you stress or unhappiness right now? What impact is this having on my work and personal life?
- Don’t ignore your feelings. Are you fulfilled and happy or angry and resentful? Being aware of your feelings allows you to make better decisions for you and work.
- Set priorities. Think about if anything needs to change. Is it worth working longer hours and in turn having to sacrifice family time and your social life?
- Consider your alternatives. Is there anything you can change at work to meet your new needs and priorities?
- Change something. Small changes can make all the difference. It could be as simple as asking for flexible hours, using or planning out your annual leave, or not checking emails/work after office hours and weekends.
What SAS are doing to help their team
Team SAS has been focusing on building team relationships, well-being and for all, to have that happy work life balance. To encourage team relationships and conversations, each member of the team is paired with a buddy, whom they go on a quarterly ‘Buddy Lunch’ with, doing this gives them the opportunity to chat away from the office and to build on their relationship, give advice and in turn recognise if other’s may be under work stress.
SAS have also introduced a Wellness Corner in light of Mental health awareness day on the 10th of October. Here, team members can take time out of their day to destress and reflect. The corner provides little pick-me-ups, quotes & an adult colouring book to relax the mind when feeling overwhelmed by work. SAS donate to a number of charities, one of them being Mind Charity, these donations are monthly and are solely based off of how difficult we know work can be on our mental health.
Unfortunately, Mental Health can still be a taboo subject in the workplace, but here at SAS we want to change that perception and make sure our team feel more comfortable in raising awareness among their peers and managers. We want our team to know that we are always here to provide ongoing help and support where we can
