Balancing Between Office And Family

[Sharifur Rahman]

                               
One of the biggest issues that both employees and employers face is balancing between the demands from home and work. Making happy the boss or other colleagues at office and the spouse and other family members at home is not an easy task. As the family structure changes, people are more used to coping with various family issues. There is no question or doubt that the work-family balance is at the centre of many office arguments and talks.
Balancing is always a complex issue, and when it is about making a balance between the boss and wife/husband, the task involves intensive time management at first. Also, career paths, gender roles, financial values and many other factors are there.


Sharif

[nusrat-diu]

Whatever your work arrangements, experts recommend a range of coping strategies to enhance balance:

·       Make a list of essential activities and involvements that you want to maintain.
·       Set and guard limits and boundaries to protect these; say no firmly to activities that would interfere with your essentials.
·       Make a list of ‘don’t want to do’ items that are aversive, waste your time, sap your energy.
·       Delegate these and other non-essential tasks and find or hire help.
·       Negotiate to achieve the most advantageous arrangement possible when it’s not feasible to reject or delegate an activity or task.
·       Clark (2002) found that individuals who communicate with work associates about family and with their family about work are more satisfied and higher functioning in both arenas.
·       Make long-term plans with your partner to meet your individual and mutual balance goals.
·       Engage your partner in regular short-term planning: Briefly review activities and arrangements for the coming week every Sunday evening. Briefly review activities for the next day every evening.
·       Organize division of labor with your partner so that you each cover those tasks that are easiest and most enjoyable for you.
·       Try to let go of the responsibilities your partner has accepted or you have delegated to others. Try not to control or criticize. Let go of guilt.
·       Strictly prioritize tasks. Include ‘slack’ time in your plans and schedule. You won’t be able to maintain a schedule plan that commits 110 percent of your available time, let alone accommodate ‘emergencies’.
·       Take care of yourself first whenever feasible. You can’t do very effectively for others if you are depleted. ·     
·       Always be professional at work. Arrive at work early; leave work on a strict schedule. Block out work when at home or confine it to strictly scheduled times. Minimize weekend work. Be prepared for family emergencies that call you away from work. Train subordinates to cover responsibilities when you are away from work.

 

Recognize that it will be hard but necessary to accept compromising some of your goals in order to protect higher priority involvements and activities. Remind yourself frequently that these strategies are critical to maintaining a life based on your true values.


 

Resources

 

BBC work - family balance site

[Antara11]

Thank you madam for these helpful tips.

Antara
Lecturer
English Dept

[shahina]

this is what life is about. Always adjustment, the more we are expert in adjusting to any situation more nice everything is.