Work-Life Balance

Work allows you to provide for yourself and your family while also serving a purpose in the community, but when it takes over your life it can negatively affect your health.

Work-Life balance is important

Fact: People who feel they have good work-life balance are more satisfied with their job and their life, and experience fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Tips to maintain a healthy work-life balance:

• Prioritize your time and be realistic
• Plan out personal time
• Have set work hours and stick to them
• Make exercise a must do
• Do what you love

Mental Health of America: Work Health Survey

This survey found that over half of respondents cope with workplace stress in unhealthy ways such as drinking, drug use, and lashing out at others. Below are some healthy and unhealthy ways to cope with workplace stress.

Healthy: Exercise, come up with solutions, get some fresh air, clear your head, focus on enjoyable hobbies

Unhealthy: Drink, smoke, ignore the problem, dwell on the negatives, get too much sleep, and eat junk food to cope with those feelings

Health suffers when work takes over your life

Fact: Poor work-life balance increases your risk for health conditions like sleep problems, digestive disorders, and mental health problems.

Fact: Working overtime increases the likelihood of having symptoms of depression, especially in men.

When work takes over your life, your emotional, behavioral, and physical well-being are affected. Below are examples of the negative effects that may occur when work becomes the main priority.

Emotional- you may experience emotions such as anxiety, frustration, or sadness

Behavioral- when stressed you may behave differently and become withdrawn, indecisiveness, or inflexible

Physical- you may experience headaches, nausea, indigestion, or sleep disturbance

4. Having a chronic illness can make achieving work-life balance difficult

Fact: A survey of people with diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis found that understanding and support from coworkers and management was among one of the most important factors in their ability to keep working.

The benefits to having a support system in the workplace are:

• Work becomes more enjoyable
• You feel understood
• A supportive workplace inspires creativity
• You feel like you can get out some of your frustrations
• You feel accepted

Mental Health of America has created several fact sheets regarding the importance of mind-body balance on mental health.  Click on the image below for a fact-sheet about work-life balance.

To learn more about this topic and other mental health awareness activities, visit Mental Health of America www.mentalhealthamerica.net