Well, we’re all back at work now and Christmas is becoming a distant memory. In fact, it’s been an incredibly hectic holiday period for me this year as I’ve been over to California to spend time with relatives and, since getting back, have been doing the rounds in the UK – all in all, it hasn’t felt like what you’d call ‘a holiday’!!
This made me wonder whether Christmas, and everything that goes with it, is actually more stressful than being at work – because now I’m back in the comfort and relative predictability of the office, it actually feels a lot less ‘pressured’ than the ten days I spent away from work over Christmas.
But then I realised that it’s actually a great example of needing to get the balance right - when home life and work life are balanced both seem better and more manageable. When things are out of kilter – both can start to seem difficult and it’s easy to see how the detrimental effects can snowball and cause stress. In my case, I’m finding that getting back to work is providing a break from a busy family Christmas, but at other times during 2008 when work ramps up, it will be my family life that delivers the support I need to keep going when the pressure is on.
And it’s the same for all of us – when our employers are flexible enough to enable us to take responsibility for balancing our work and home lives you get a win-win situation. We, as employees, feel more in control and motivated at work, but also have the energy to fully engage with family life, which in turn replenishes our reserves for the challenges of the workplace. Employers then get a more loyal, productive and resilient workforce which is ready and willing to help them meet their work objectives. Sounds simple – but finding and maintaining the balance requires employers who take this thinking on board and employees who take responsibility for their side of the deal.
