Why is Work-Life Balance so difficult to maintain? Over these past 20 years of being in the health industry I have seen so much evolution in our metabolisms, foods available to us, stress and its influence on our mental wellbeing, all the way to the change in lifestyles we live. We do not leave enough time for movement, exercise, planning meals, sitting down to eat as a family, or simply practicing self-control when it comes to portion sizes. “More” seems to be expected from us and it has taken its toll. This strain of poor work-life balance makes living healthy difficult to achieve.
Do you ever get frustrated that things just can’t seem to slow down? Do you feel tired halfway through your day and try to manage by drinking more caffeine, eating more? You don’t have time to prepare healthy meals, exercise, or even think about taking time for yourself?
This is a good sign that you do not have work-life balance.
Working in hospital leadership for more than 10 years and working 40+ hours a week was never enough to have the impact it needed to improve patient outcomes. Until I began looking at what work-life balance should be, I felt like there was no way out. I knew I wanted more for myself, my family, and for those I care for. With a lot of planning and naivety, my husband and I began the process of preparing me to leave my 6-figure salary for meaningful work. I started this business and made strategic changes to allow myself to share my knowledge with those who want to learn how to live healthy. It’s not always easy, but it holds more value to me giving me a positive work-life balance. Maybe you can’t make as dramatic of changes but there are things you can do to improve your work-life balance.
What is Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is a lifestyle that balances time between work life and personal life. Most people think this means 1/2 of your time should be work and 1/2 of your time is personal life. This could never be more wrong. Work-life balance is whatever balance you need to be productive while at work, but able to experience a fulfilled and meaningful personal life. The amount of time working and playing will differ for each person. I want to break this concept down by Generational Perceptions as each group values work-life balance differently.
Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964)
Boomers were born and raised in the industrial area. Everyone worked hard for what they had. The American Dream was finally achievable with hard work. Parental roles were defined as traditional with one parent working and one at home. However, moms entered the workforce to support their families during the second world war.
The priority of baby boomers in their prime was to generate as much wealth as possible to live the American Dream. Their identity was often defined by their roles in the workforce (or at home) and hard work was respected and often rewarded. So, the idea of balancing life with “less” work can be considered offensive to this generation. On the surface this sound admirable and was necessary at the time. Baby boomers are goal oriented as a collective. They are loyal to their employers, working within a team, and have a deeper sense of duty to do the right thing. They also value family because their hard work was to provide for their family. Boomers are willing to sacrifice their own needs for their family. The mentality of toughen up, work through the difficulties, overcome adversity are common with this generation.
Their limiting behaviors?
They value work or pleasing others over their health. They often ignore serious medical issues and wait until it’s too late to make important changes to improve their health. When they develop illnesses or medical conditions, they sometimes ignore the need for care until it’s too late, due to it being a competing factor with their primary goal which is to be their best for everyone else. On the flip side, some value their health and take great strides to remain healthy and active. It typically comes down to what values they learned early in their lives. Once they committed to that value system, that is the system they follow for life.
How Boomers Value Work-Life Balance
Their perception of work-life balance is more work, with the enjoyment of life coming after retirement. The problem with this is if you don’t have a planned retirement, if you suffer from poor health, or you have not done the work you need to enjoy life, this can seem like an unrealistic dream. Boomers value home cooked meals, family time, exercise because it’s the right thing to do, and either avoiding the doctor altogether or believe the doctor’s word over anyone else’s.
GenX (Born 1965 to 1980)
What can I say, I love GenX (Sometimes)! Maybe because I am one! GenX is a product of boomer parenting and still holds to the hard work mentality (most of the time). The key difference is they don’t want to miss out on the benefits a quality life can provide before retirement.
This generation is also known as the “Latch Key” generation, as they were the first school age kids to come home to an empty house due to an increase in single parenting or both parents working outside of the home. They were also raised with rapidly advancing technology including TV, computers, and the internet. This resulted in a generation of independent thinkers. This generation is very self-sufficient. They are willing to learn new things and are not afraid of challenges, prefer more independent work and thrive when they are in control of their outcomes. Millennials value “self” more than the needs of the “establishment” and sometimes at the expense of others’ needs (sorry to say). GenX are less likely to compromise their own health for the sake of the “job.” They are creative, talented, and resourceful.
Their limiting behaviors?
They think they know better. GenX have a cynical perspective often preventing them from trusting experts, industry standards, and sometimes the trained specialist. They often do not ask for help but will form their own perspective from personal experience as this is the opinion they can trust. As a matter of fact, no one is trustworthy until you have earned it from a GenX perspective. Yes, that means even doctors. Even though doctors went through the schooling to be a specialist, GenX feel they know better than to trust the degree only. This means they need to have relationships with those they receive education, training, or coaching from. They aren’t going to listen to just anyone. They often challenge status quo, want the best from everything offered, and are willing to work to get it.
How GenX Value Work-Life Balance
Their perception of work-life balance is usually centered on their hobbies and goals. They don’t live to work but work so they can play. That’s why when work-life becomes imbalanced a GenX is out of sorts. They will become angry and frustrated because their personal time is being infringed upon. This can increase difficulties in relationships, because a GenX is not likely to put your needs before their own. I say this with a lot of love, but a lot of conviction, because I fall in this group. I can’t tell you how often I find myself putting others’ needs off because they conflict with my priority of work-life balance. This is something GenX need to be aware of so they can prevent it from harming close relationships. This generation want to be productive when they work, but they don’t want to put in more time than necessary.
The other challenge GenX faces is that they take on too much. Because they want to enjoy life now, they over commit. This might look like putting their kids in “ALL” of the sports and activities, working more than 40 hours while still trying to make all of their social engagements, or having more than one hobby that keeps them busy even though they have responsibilities to take care of. GenX do not place value on meal planning and meal prep because that does not add value to their work-life balance. To them, it takes away from it due to the amount of time it takes to plan meals, buy the groceries, and prep the meals. They will often skip exercise in lieu of relaxing because they are spread thin and feel overwhelmed much of the time.
GenY or Millennials (1981-1996)
Millennials are an optimistic group. They were raised at the turn of the millennium and had the most economic stability. Millennials didn’t grow up in a competitive environment which resulted in less opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them. Hence the dawn of the “participation award” and “everyone is a winner.”
This group was raised to treat everyone kindly and reward for effort, not results. This means they have a lot of empathy for others and are very generous. Their personal expression of self is more important than your opinion of them. They are bold and willing to try new things. This generation was the beginning of social media and sharing personal information online changing how they interact socially. They are great collaborators and prefer group learning environments.
Their limiting behaviors?
They can achieve results without putting in the time. Millennials have a self-confidence that is often over-inflated because they know how to project the best versions of themselves through social media. Their authentic self is less exciting than what they project, so they live behind what they share on social media. This can often result in poor self-image, willingness to take short cuts to achieve results, and inconsistency in performance due to not wanting to experience the discomfort of failure. They are more likely to follow the newest popular craze on social media when it comes to their health and are constantly trying new things.
This generation is more likely to shift or move on when hard work, or worse, failing is expected. This is not because they don’t want to do the work, but it’s uncomfortable and unless they have experienced the rewards of hard work and failing forward, they are not likely to sustain that “new thing.” Millennials place their personal experience as more valuable than others, making this generation more inclined to call themselves experts even though they lack the training or work experience. On the positive, they are very knowledgeable and want to share that knowledge with those in their circle (and often outside their circle, hence social media).
How Millennials Value Work-Life Balance
When trying to achieve work-life balance, work experience holds less value than the Millennials own achievement. They work to achieve the highest standard for work and life. This means they place more value on the learning process to get the highest credentials possible, but don’t may not be patient enough to stay in a job long enough to gain work experience vital to leadership roles. They are more likely to change jobs for advancing opportunities and to help them reach what they perceive as successful.
Due to wanting to share their expertise, they are more likely to have online businesses. This generation has more bloggers, social media influencers, etc. of all groups. This means they can work from home and enjoy their personal life. In personal life, they want the best of everything. They want to travel, experience new things, try new foods, or just change their routine so that life stays exciting. Millennials will exercise, eat right, and may even trail blaze home gardens, or try the newest workout trend. Whatever the new exciting thing is in health, they will give it a try as long as they find value in it, and it helps them reach the highest standard of work and living.
Gen Z (1997-2012)
GenZ generation as a collective is more pragmatic and more willing to work hard due to the always shifting economic climate. They are living in uncertain political, social, and economic times resulting in very low confidence in not just themselves, but the world around them. This generation has more mental health challenges due to the constant uncertainty (COVID was no help).
Having grown up with technology and always available information, they are constantly seeking knowledge. Their version of hard work is to learn more about something before doing. Due to having everything at their fingertips, they value high quality work. GenZ will check and verify instructions and will challenge direction if they do not see consistent information supporting those instructions. They believe in working smarter, not harder and want the best of everything. This generation often innovate streamlined ways of doing things.
Their limiting behaviors?
Their own mental capacity. This generation has more personal stress and needs to learn work-life balance. As they are just entering the workforce, they are showing to be more competitive, more private than their Millennial counterparts, and are very independent. They feel they can learn what to do without actually doing the work. As they gain more experience and learn that not all is lost when they fail, they will adapt and grow. They may make great leaders because they care about others and their feelings but are willing to put in the work and stay in one job to achieve whatever experience they can. They will work hard but want their play to be Zen. When difficulties come, this generation struggles to manage emotionally. They need healthy, safe outlets to express themselves which is often found in their inner circle.
How GenZ Value Work-Life Balance
When striving for work-life balance GenZ need to manage emotions well. They are not good with time management and struggle to say no. The amount of anxiety they feel can take a toll which means they strive to make work as peaceful as their personal life. When it comes to health, they are the unhealthiest of all generations. Due to having technology centered lifestyles, they often move less, have poor diet quality, and don’t know how to change it. This is the first generation of mostly processed foods. Even when they think they are eating healthy, they may not be. They often look for shortcuts to health-related problems to save time.
Their perception of work-life balance is placed on working smarter not harder. This is the generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. They are willing to create new things to help them succeed versus learning traditional ways of doing things. Because technology is their ally, they can create just about anything if they are willing. They are more inclined to work from home and have a core community of friends and family. GenZ are more inclined to sacrifice the salary for opportunities that give diverse experiences. When seeking to live healthy, they need to start from the beginning. Their sense of healthy is skewed due to most foods being processed and their GenX influences not placing value on meal planning, meal prep, or exercise.
How Can I Tell if I am Burned Out?
Burnout is what happens when you have kept busy for a period of time and when you try to slow down you can’t. Burnout can happen when your work-life balance has been out of sorts for a period of time or if a life crisis takes a toll. You know you are experiencing burnout when you begin feeling ineffective, hopeless in your situation, and not valued for the work you do. I love this article from the Cleveland Clinic that explains burnout. Common signs are constant fatigue, feeling less value in the work you do, a jaded view of others at work or at home, more frequent headaches, significant changes in your typical sleep and eating routine that is taking a toll on how you feel.
Burnout can mimic depression-like feelings but is not the same. With burnout your mood improves when you return to a work-life balance you value, versus if you have depression. Your mood does not improve or change even with work-life balance with depression. If you feel you are struggling with depression as opposed to burn out, be sure to seek help as this is a diagnosable condition and will need to be treated.
Living Out Your Faith in Work-Life Balance
In John 10 of the bible, Jesus talks about the good shepherd and his sheep. He makes a promise that he opens the gateway to God, if you accept Jesus and follow him, God promises to give you a full and rich life (this is not necessarily monetary riches). He also warns that those who follow elsewhere will experience spiritual death and miss out on the fullness that God has to offer. This gives us hope that we don’t have to stay stuck in the cycle of busy and chaos as the world continues to demand. Work-Life balance for Christians starts with seeking God first, before your day picks up. Everyone can benefit from spending time with God and praying. Having a healthy prayer and meditation routine is vital to keeping your work-life balance in check.
Remember that God desires for you to be your best to do what he needs you to, so he wants you to care for yourself. This includes managing your time, eating healthy, exercising, and managing stress. But depending on your generation, you may need to approach work-life balance differently. Whether you are a Christian or not, work-life balance is key to giving yourself time to do the work needed to manage your health. Whether you are a GenX like me or you are part of a different generation, there are ways to improve you work-life balance.
Baby Boomer Centered Work-Life Balance Strategies:
- Start your day with movement. Be sure take a walk every day.
- Stretch daily. It is important to keep your muscles flexible. This will also prevent injury.
- Take time to spend outdoors, but wear sunscreen and a hat. You might even opt for long sleeves.
- Spend as much time with family and friends as you can!
- If you find yourself still working, it’s ok to end the workday as scheduled. Don’t worry it will all be ready for you when you return. Try taking more time off by planning vacations or wellness days to enjoy quality of life.
GenX Centered Work-Life Balance Strategies:
- Schedule your health needs. This means schedule and block the time for exercise, grocery shopping (use online shopping to help), and meal prep time. When you treat these appointments like a professional meeting, you will be more inclined to keep it. Need quick start breakfast ideas? Sign up to get my smoothie e-booklet to get you started off on the right foot.
- Ensure you get 7-9 hours sleep daily. If this is a challenge, be sure you get caught up by the end of the week. If you need help, try this sleep hygiene checklist to help you find a sleep routine that works for you. sleep hygiene checklist.pdf
- Spread out your movement and activity. Involve the family if needed. For weight loss do HIIT workouts (High Intensity, Interval Training up to three times per week). This will not only boost your metabolism but will save you time. Spread out your movement and cardiovascular exercise throughout the day. Try doing two to four, fifteen-minute walks or two, thirty-minute walks daily.
- Try new things. Pick up a new activity and join friends when they invite you to do something physical. Whether it be hiking, bike riding, golfing, pickleball, or any other physical activity, SAY YES! You love being challenged and this is a great way to fill that need.
- STOP keeping up with the Jones’. Say No to unnecessary social engagements or “ALL” of the sports for your kids (It’s ok to miss some things). Teach your family to prioritize activities and when to rest. Your kids need to learn the value of mealtime and preparing healthy meals, so be willing to teach them. Remember, even God rested on the 7th day of creation. It is important that you respect your need for rest and recovery.
Millennial Centered Work-Life Balance Strategies:
- Flexibility is key. Find work that allows flexibility in your schedule. Whether that is work from home, per diem, or work share you can find value in work that accommodates your personal schedule.
- Be social when trying to be healthy. Join a workout or coaching group and invite a friend or two to join you. Find ways to keep the learning process of living healthy social.
- Be generous with your time to those around you. Serve others to experience the fullness in life quality God wants you to experience.
- Accept yourself. Body image can be difficult if you don’t fit the mold of what social media tells you is healthy. If you are doing the work of eating healthy, being active, and managing stress then you are healthy. Your body size should not define your worth.
- Go green! Do things to improve your environment. Do double duty and plant a garden, raise chickens, or make your own honey or cheese. All of these are self-fulfilling and contribute to a greater cause. If you already do this, find ways to participate in community gardens to share your passion for green with others.
GenZ Centered Work-Life Balance Strategies:
- Get back to whole foods. Consider a plant-based diet using veggies and fruits from your home-grown garden. Make friends with a Millennial, they likely have a garden 😁
- Be willing to do the hard work to lose and maintain a healthy weight. Remember, medications, surgery, and other short cuts are short term solutions. You need to place your health as a priority. This means you also need to schedule your workouts, meal plan, grocery shopping, and meal prep on your calendar and keep these as priorities.
- Schedule self-care time daily. This can be quiet walks, devotions, journaling, or reading. It can also mean a spa day or fun day with friends and family.
- Move more throughout the day. The standard for a healthy adult is 10,000 steps per day. Use a wearable device to track your movement and be sure you get up and move every 2 hours you are sitting (with the exception of sleep).
- Find purpose in your health through raising money through fun runs, fitness challenges, or preparing healthy meals for others. This not only helps you but will help others too.
If you want to enjoy a quality of life, healthy habits need to be at the center of how you live. Whatever your generational tendencies may be, work-life balance is key to supporting a healthy lifestyle. You want to have time to be active, make healthy meals at home, and take the time to rest and relax. If you need help with how to do these things, click here to schedule a free discovery call and learn how I may be able to help you reach your health-related goals.
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