By: Angie Falls

An ongoing challenge in life for working women or not?

What is the meaning of work-life balance?

Work-life balance is a concept including the proper prioritization of work (career and ambition) and lifestyle (health, pleasure, leisure, family).

The expression “work-life balance” was first used in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s to describe the balance between an individual’s work and personal life.

Work-life balance has been addressed by some employers and has been seen as a benefit to them. Employees with a good work-life balance are efficiently productive and have a happy experience of their job.

In a recent article of World Economic Forum it turned out that;

The Dutch have the best work-life balance.

The Netherlands has overtaken Denmark as the country with the best work-life balance. That is according to the latest OECD Better Life Index, which ranks countries on how successfully households mix work, family commitments and personal life, among other factors.

Even after all these statements we still face challenges in achieving a proper work-life balance on a micro level. Working women who have children experience even more demands on time, energy and resources.

I believe that this is also a result of the interaction with direct team members.   The group pressure is one of the factors to be considered in realising a solid work-life balance. In the corporate environment, we need to be bold to set our own rules as women and then see what the result will be. Fear is one of the factors that hold us back. Fear to lose our job and furthermore we feel guilty all the time. Only when we can overcome or let go of that fear and guilt we will be liberated and be able to handle the work-life balance on our own terms.

As working women, we easily get the tag that we should not prioritize our work above family.

Actually, why is that not positive? Let women decide for themselves! We are all in different situations and we all should be allowed to put our own priorities.

I feel proud that I am able to put my family first and then my job on the second place. This is how I want it.  I do not feel like proving myself all the time. In the end, it is all about life and what we find important in leading a successful life in general. We should define our own criteria for work-life balance instead of  being dictated by society (or our direct team members).

This is the only way we can break the barriers of the contemporary mindset on this topic.

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