Coping with Stress - Workplace Techniques

Coping with Stress - Workplace Techniques

Balancing work and personal time

 Balancing between work and personal time is indeed a tight-rope walk. Any skew will only result in problems, like time pressures, family/ work conflicts, guilt, etc. Lynne Knobloch-Fedders and Ben Gorvine,(“Achieving a Balance between Work and Personal Life”) suggest the following strategies that can help us to maintain a good balance between work and personal life:

Learn how to set limits - and stick to them! Setting limits (for how you will respond to
demands from both your work and your personal life) will prevent you from over-committing
yourself. But limits are only effective if you stick to them, so make sure you follow through
on the decisions you have made about what to cut back on. As you are setting limits for
yourself, it may be helpful to imagine situations in which you would be tempted to disregard
your limits - and decide how you will handle these situations. That way, you won’t be caught
unaware into situations in which you might over-commit yourself.

Take advantage of your workplace’s family-friendly policies and supports.
If your workplace offers discretion over the methods, timing, or location of your work, use this
flexibility to improve your situation.

Prioritize your multiple roles. When you become clearer about your priorities and values,
it becomes easier to make decisions and set limits between the demands of work and
personal life.

Reduce the psychological conflicts you experience between work and personal
life.
Surprisingly, time is not necessarily the main conflict we experience between work
and personal life. Instead, the psychological conflicts (guilt, difficulty “turning off” work
behaviors at home, pressure and anxiety) create the most problems. Clarifying your values,
setting priorities, and actively reducing the psychological importance of one or more of
your roles may be required to reduce the conflicts, and the negative emotions that arise
from them.

Protect each role from interference by the others.
When you are at home, turn off your cell phone, laptop, beeper, or email, so that you can be fully “present” during this time. Similarly, when you are at work, try to limit personal life intrusions - this will help you be more efficient and effective during your workday.