A couple of days ago, I was listening to LITE Malaysia while on my usual morning school drop off and the topic of Work-Life balance came on. It was brought up because Malaysia recently came out second last in terms of Work-Life balance in a recent poll of 60 countries. A few callers called in and had some pretty insightful things to share.
The first caller mentioned that he used to be a workaholic, but that changed once he had a family. He emphasised how children value quality time spent together over material things. He said the Malay proverb is, "Masa itu Emas" ("Time is Gold"), i.e., time is precious, and it is not "Masa itu Wang" ("Time is Money"), although "Time is Money" is a popular enough saying in English.
The next caller talked about how he does bring his work home with him, but, he considers his work part of his life and identity, so, he's happy with that scenario.
The last caller, a physiotherapist, shared how she is not available, after work hours. She mentioned that she leaves messages read (but does not reply after work hours unless it truly is an emergency). She leaves it read (blue ticks) as she wants to send the message that she will not respond during her personal time. She prioritizes her family time as they are the ones who'll be there for her, ultimately, whereas as an employee, she is replaceable. She rhetorically asked, "Will your work take care of you if you're sick?". She learned this, "Work Hard, Play Hard" attitude from her husband and his side of the family, as she wasn't like that before.
Insights from these callers:
1) Family members value your presence, over your presents (although presents are nice to receive). However, a present and engaged family member is priceless (for children especially).
2) If you love your work, it becomes part of you and who you are. It doesn't feel like work and you're happy to have it permeate other aspects of your life.
3) It's important to set boundaries and be flexible enough to adjust for unusual circumstances. We teach others how we expect to be treated.
What is Work-Life balance to you?
~Dr. Reshma Stanislaus
#litemalaysia
#worklifebalance
#mentalhealthmatters
Senior Trainer at PEOPLElogy Group | Transforming Leadership & Soft Skills with 19 Years of Aviation & Hospitality Excellence | Driving Growth & Innovation
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