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Thoughts on work life balance and conflict in the work place. Input requested! I’ve been in the prevention, health care and behavioral health fields for over 17 years. I am no expert and one thing I’ve learned is that this work is hard because we have people’s lives in our hands. Our systems here in the US are complex, bureaucratic, fragmented and mired with internal and external socio-political complexities. What does this have to do with the topic of work life balance and conflict in the work place? Folks who are doing hard work on the front lines and those tasked with managing teams under these complicated systems, can become their own worst enemy. At the same time, conflict is normal and is in fact a stage of group dynamics, often referred to as storming. The stages are form, storm, norm, perform and adjourn. Some questions for you to comment below and/or share with your network. Let’s learn and grow together! - How do you handle conflict when it arises in the work place? - What skills or coping tools do you utilize when you feel your day to day work life is a struggle to balance with your own personal needs both inside and outside of work? - What cultural or demographic considerations should you make in approaching work life balance and conflict at work based on the make up of your team, seniority, etc? For myself: I tend to be more assertive and less fearful of confrontation. I also have to remember how I present as a cis white hetero educated male. My privilege can be a source of intimidation or allow me to exercise authority where it is not needed or warranted. I also have lived experience that lends me to struggle at times and that’s not often apparent to others until I am overwhelmed at work. Self care, putting work down at the end of the day and building healthy habits and relationships that support me in my journey is crucial. What about you? Comment, react, share, let’s learn together!

Work just as hard on yourself as you do on your career. Having some sort of routine or discipline outside of work is extremely underrated and highly important. We often neglect having a work life balance until we eventually burn ourselves out. It shouldn’t take you burning yourself out to realise that self care is vital and plays a big part of being successful. Going to gym at 4am before work sounds crazy to most people but for me is part of my everyday routine. Getting a head start on the day by going to the gym allows my mind to be more alert, more creative, more productive and ultimately helps keep my mind healthy. Find a way to disconnect from work and find that balance. Try to challenge yourself and you’ll be surprised how capable you truly are. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and let the results speak for themselves.

Are you a leader who is burnt-out or feels like you can’t keep your head above water? If so, you are likely experiencing these problems: • feel guilty when your family complains that your work is more important than them, • are more and more frequently missing time with family/friends to meet work deadlines, • are exhausted before you even get to work two or more days a week, and • think about quitting at least 1x a week but tell yourself that’s not an option so you push through another week, After working with leaders for the past three years we’ve found those problems are happening because you’re making one or more of these mistakes: • Making yourself accessible 24/7 answering emails, texts, phone calls • You are staying late or bringing work home 3 or 4 nights a week and working on weekends • You say yes to requests to take on more work or projects when you really want to say no • You always prioritize everyone else’s needs before your own • You tell yourself, “leaders sacrifice…it’s just how it is” And if you are experiencing these problems and making some of these mistakes then we bet you haven’t yet figured out how to create work life balance and overcome or avoid burnout. Right? You’ve probably tried but after multiple failed attempts you decided work life balance isn’t possible.  Are we right? Just because you haven’t experienced work life balance doesn’t mean it’s not possible. You haven’t walked on the moon yet, that’s possible! Life cannot exist without balance. It’s a universal principle and applies to everything around us. Nature, the universe, the hemispheres of our brain. So, balance between work and home must be possible! If you want to learn the secret to creating work life balance, we invite you to register for our FREE webinar 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚’𝒔 𝑺𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑨𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 (𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒐𝒃𝒔). Click the link below to register. https://lnkd.in/gbT_PXi3 

About a decade back, I told a senior people leader that there is no work life balance. Some times, your work till take you precedence and sometimes, the personal life will. I thought, they’d agree with me. This was a leader I observed from a distance and admired. But then, they said no. Work has to come first. If you don’t display this at work, you won’t grow. To say that I was surprised, is putting it mildly. I thought it was a rather obvious thing. Apparently, it wasn’t. The job must be your number one priority. No matter what is going on in your life, is what was said to me. For months afterward, this conversation stayed in my mind. But I wanted more. A fulfilling career and a rich personal life. Over the years, I have come to work with people who share my views. Balance - it is hard to strike, but something I strive for. This weekend, at We Convention held by Women's Empowerment Council , I heard one of the speakers Mirna Arif share the same view. Sometimes, your career needs more attention, sometimes, your personal life. It is an imbalance, she said. Both will never be equal. Hearing her took me back to the conversation I began this story with. I realised something I had missed back then. To each of us, work life balance means a different thing. We look at work life balance from our own lenses. For some it could mean a workout to start their day. For some, time spent with their kids. For some, it could be meeting friends, or reading, or a hobby, a side hustle. A leader who can see this, and empathize with the team, allow them the balance they desire, will have a happy team. What do you guys think? And since this post is about work-life (im)balance, here is a pic of my reasons for wanting to do this.

I am back, it’s been a while since I posted and thought I would take the opportunity to debate a phrase that worries me in a business world where we are talking more and more about Mental Health and Well Being.   I have seen and heard it in a number of corporate communications on LinkedIn, the phrase is as follows…..   “because just doing the job, is never enough”.   What I find interesting about this and many similar styles of phrasing, is the return question “therefore what is enough”?   If I am an employee and working my contracted hours and by exception sometimes work more when required. And I am performing my duties at the level required of the role or maybe exceeding them, Is this enough?   How can an employee feel motivated if they are informed that just doing the job is “never enough” without explanation?   I suppose this links to the toxic subject of “Quiet Quitting”, where individuals are choosing to do the above and then are classed as potentially not being committed?   I don’t think Corporations realise that this kind of phrasing can drive employees to self-reflect and feel inadequate, or drive employees to give too much of themselves to the organisation and ultimately compromise Work Life Balance which in many cases will lead to Burnout.   Working Time seems to be the biggest issue for many organisations, where over many years the exception has become the norm! I wonder how many organisations when advocating Mental Health and Well Being have studied how many hours their employees are working relative to thier contracted hours?   This is so important as Well Being has a primary focus on recovery, not just being told to take breaks in the working day, but also to recover outside of work!   More importantly, presence outside of work is the only important thing and should be how we centre our whole life experience.   So, in conclusion, as an employer or employee I truly believe we need to create an environment where mutual contentment is the primary focus, where the definition of “Enough” is defined and ensures the correct Work Life Balance.   Just my perspective 👍 🙏

I am increasingly concerned by what I am terming the demonisation of work. It isn't called that of course. It's called work/life balance, or quiet quitting, or in the latest case, only giving 85%. I understand the need for work/life balance but all too often I am seeing this translated into life/work balance where work is fitted in to everything else we want to do in life. So why do I see this as a demonisation of work? It seems that work is being viewed very negatively with all of these concepts - as something to be avoided, that gives you mental health problems and stresses you out. In reality, if you find the right job with the right company and if you are doing a job you enjoy, work can be life enhancing, truly fulfilling and exciting. It can make the years fly by and make you develop in many different ways as a person. It is also "life" and it is the monetary foundation for everything you do outside it. So maybe we should be promoting the concept of work a little more and if you aren't enjoying what you do, maybe it's time to think about changing jobs and finding a role that does bring you joy.

The powerful scientific equation to shift your perspective at work. Hey guys, ever feel stuck or stressed with work ? Try to think of your work in the context of CAUSE AND EFFECT equation. We all know cause and effect equation. We know that every effect has its reason, a cause. If you are stressed due to work because you have a lot of work from your boss, do you say to yourself, “my boss is giving a lot of work and I can’t keep up. I am stressed and there is no work life balance” Or do you say, “I have taken more work than I manage today so let me delegate some of it, or re organize my time or talk to my boss to extend the deadline” Do you focus on the problem or the solution? if you think life’s being bad to you, you ll attract more of it and get trapped in the loop of negativity. if you focus on the solution life will open unbelievable path to move forward I choose the CAUSE side and take responsibility of my life. Ps: Which side do you choose to be ? ——-let’s help others——- 1. Repost this post 2. Follow Gaurav Gaba

Work-life balance is overrated. Implicitly, having to balance Work and Life implies that they’re separate things. The reality is that work is part of life, and life is part of work. If you accept that reality, then you open up the opportunity to integrate the two in a way that better serves you all around, rather than trying to trade them off against each other. When you think of work as an integral part of who you are, you can ask questions like: “If I want to do better work, how do I need to change the rest of my life?” Or, “If I want a better life, how does my work help me achieve that?” Then you can make changes that reflect your goals and improve both work and life. The Shaolin Monks are a perfect example of this concept. The original motivation for their kung fu training wasn’t just for self-defense - they were motivated to strengthen their bodies in order to sit in meditation for longer and reach deeper levels of enlightenment. I’m no monk, but I do exercise 5 days a week and consider that to be part of my job as a CEO. If I don’t prioritize that movement, I know my work suffers. I’m no longer as high-functioning of a leader for my team. Rather than disassociating from my job as soon as I get home, I take care of the routines that support me in my professional life. (No “Severance” procedure for me, thanks.) I find fulfillment in all of it because I know there’s nothing to trade-off. It’s all an indispensable part of my life, work included.

Work/life balance is overrated - at least in the early parts of your career. Your 20s and 30s (and sometimes your 40s if needed) is the time to graft, to build yourself a platform which you can reap the rewards from for the rest of your life. It is not the time to get comfortable and complacent - you have the rest of your life to do that, and if you nail the early stages of your career, the comfort you'll experience later on is far greater than the comfort you're experiencing now. There's a perception that workaholics are miserable people, but in my opinion, if you like what you do for a living, and you allow yourself just enough time to take care of your mental & physical health, family and social life, you can be a happy workaholic ⚖️ I know a lot of you can relate, but probably even more will disagree, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts 💭 Is the idealisation of work/life balance killing your potential? 🤔