In this age of technology, your employer, workmates, or clients might expect you to be available 24-7, making it difficult to achieve what is known as work-life balance—a reasonable separation and prioritizing between your job and other aspects of life, including your marriage.
- What you should know
- Tips on work-life balance
- What spouses say
What you should know
- Technology can blur the line between your job and your marriage. As a result, each off-hours call, e-mail, or text you receive can lead to what seems like a fire that needs to be put out immediately.
What some say “The simple life of coming home after work and spending time with your family seems impossible now, as work e-mails and phone calls come in and marriage gets put on the back burner.”
- To balance your work with your home life, you need to take the initiative. If you do not create a plan, your job is more likely to intrude on your marriage.
What some say “Your mate is usually the first one you neglect because you think, ‘Oh, he’ll understand. He’ll forgive me. I’ll spend time with him later.’”
Tips on work-life balance
- Give your marriage priority. If you would not let a human “separate” you from your marriage mate, why allow your job to do so?What some say “Some clients feel that because they pay you, they should be able to reach you whenever they need you. Recognizing that my marriage takes priority, I tell them that I’m not available on my days off, but I will contact them soon.”.Ask yourself, ‘Do my actions indicate that I view my marriage as more important than my job?’
- Say no to work when necessary. Modesty may dictate that it would be wise for you to decline or delegate some of your work.
What some say “I am a plumber, so if someone needs my help in an emergency, he gets stressed out. If I can’t get to it in the time frame he wants, I refer him to someone else.”
Ask yourself: ‘Am I willing to turn down extra work if accepting it would cause my partner to feel neglected? What would my spouse say?’ - Create time together. When your workload is heavy, that is the time when you need to create or appoint time for your marriage.
What some say “Usually when everything hits at once, we agree on a time—even if it’s just dinner or a walk on the beach—when we can have some uninterrupted time together.”
Ask yourself: ‘Do I schedule appointed times when I can give undistracted attention to my marriage mate? How would my spouse answer?’ - Unplug. Could you occasionally turn off your devices so that you are not distracted by the demands of work?
What some say “I’ve made a real effort to stop work at a set time. At that point, I turn off notifications on my phone.”
Ask yourself: ‘Do I feel obligated to stay connected just in case my boss or a client needs me? How would my partner answer?’ - Allow for exceptions. Realistically, work may occasionally intrude on your marriage. For example, perhaps the nature of your spouse’s work requires that he or she be reachable after hours. Do not demand more of your spouse than is reasonable.
What some say “My husband runs a small business, and there are often after-hours emergencies he has to deal with. Occasionally, it annoys me, but with the amount of time we still spend together, it works out well.”
In conclusion ask yourself: ‘Am I considerate of my partner’s workload, not being overly demanding of him or her? How would my partner answer?’
