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Except for the very wealthy, most of us have to work in order to earn money to sustain our families and personal lives. Some people also derive great satisfaction from their work and it contributes to an integrated, balanced and happy life. This is no accident, these people have identified their work-life balance and have made an effort to ensure they benefit from their work and work environment. Your ability to be able to do this will partly depend on your role in the organisation and partly on the relationships you build. Achieving this goal involves balancing a number of factors and making considerable effort and is likely to involve:

a) Adopting a positive attitude.
Approach your work as an opportunity to add something to your life. Look for opportunities to find work and challenges that you will enjoy. Avoid those around you who are negative and forever moaning about the workplace. The people you choose to associate with and your own approach to your work can greatly influence your work experience.

b) Establishing a network.
Surround yourself with people whose company you enjoy and for whom you have respect. We cannot always choose our immediate team members, but we can make an effort to seek out these people at the water cooler, coffee machine, sandwich bar, through work (talk to people rather than send an email sometimes) and a whole range of other activities. Spend some time with these people each day.

c) Doing something you enjoy.
There will be many restrictions on how you prioritise your work and your autonomy may also be limited. Nevertheless, identify one or two aspects of your work that you really do enjoy and try to ensure that you do some of this work every day. If there really is nothing about your job that you enjoy, maybe it is time to consider alternative roles.

d) Planning your development.
Take an active role in planning your development, both within your role and for your personal objectives. Identify what it is that you want to learn. Having done so, identify the ways in which these objectives can be achieved. Then plan with your line manager how your development over the next year will be achieved. A good employer will support and assist you.

e) Regular breaks.
It is important to remember to take breaks while at work, however you enjoy waht you are doing. At lunch time, leave the building and get some fresh air as well as something to eat. You may feel you do not have time to take a break, because you are too busy. Research has shown that those that do take a lunch break are more productive in the afternoon than those that do not. It is a false economy to work through lunch, and not great for your health if you do it too often.

f) Managing Stress.
A number of people suffer from work-related stress. If you start getting headaches and dread going to work, you may be one of these. Take action to manage the stress and try to ensure you leave work issues in the workplace. Find coping mechanisms which help ensure that your home life is not littered with work related problems, leave work issues in the workplace. If stress is becoming an problem, seek counselling or medical advice. It is better tackled earlier than later.

Learn more about this author, Stephen H.
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