Benefit of putting personal life first in the search for work-life balance

It seems appropriate that my first article after some time off from writing should focus on the work-life balance.

This topic has gained tremendous attention over the past few decades and is sold to the public as a crisis of work overwhelming personal life that is in need of urgent resolution, usually by buying a self-help book.

Leaving aside the fact that data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development does not seem to support the stories of employees being swamped by work to the detriment of their personal lives, there is still something to be said about this subject.

The phrase work-life balance implies that one should aim for, if not have a right to, a personal life that is equal to a work life. Two questions immediately come to mind – how is the balance measured, and is it correct to assume that there should be equality?

I think that answering the first question will make it easier to answer the second. So how should we compare work life to our personal life? The most basic measure would be hours spent on each facet of our lives. If we consider eight hours a day asleep as a neutral time and assume a normal 9-to-5 working day five days a week, then we end up with the puzzling equation of 40 hours a week working versus 72 hours a week of personal time. This simple calculation shows us that we spend 80 per cent more time on personal commitments than on work commitments.

Some might point out that quite often work is done outside of normal work hours, but I would argue that the time we take from our work, either explicitly by leaving the office or implicitly by surfing the net and gossiping on the phone, evens things out.

My calculations above do not take into account all the holiday time. If you add those then it gets even more confusing as to why we always feel that we do not have time for ourselves.

If quantity of personal time is not the issue, then clearly it must be a question of quality. There is a big difference between four hours of personal time spent running errands and doing household chores versus just one hour spent leisurely with your spouse. The latter is far more rejuvenating and is of far greater quality.

A related question is over how long a period of time does one measure the balance? For example, even if one has decided on a measure of balance, do you ensure that each day is balanced? Or should you aim for a work-life balance measured over a week, or even a month? The former seems too rigid, while the latter allows the flexibility necessary to manage the many vagaries that life throws at us.

Finally, how much is our personal time a right, given the many stakeholders in our personal lives: spouse; children; parents; friends and neighbours? Then there is our work stakeholders who can affect our personal time: clients; vendors; partners; managers; colleagues and employees.

The pundits advise you to manage your work-life balance by being brutal about work by learning to say “no”, avoiding time-wasting meetings and delegating as much as possible. A more thoughtful look at the issue might produce the conclusion that since total personal time, including holidays, is about twice that of work time then might it not be more effective to look at our personal time first. Add to that the fact that we usually have far more influence over our personal lives (except for married men, who will be told by their wives what is in their best interest), then the argument for tackling our personal lives first in the war for a work-life balance makes sense.

A work-life balance is an attainable goal, and one that does not require you to be brutal about your work or your home. Each person is different, so try different things. Maybe you need a little downtime to meditate and re-centre, or maybe you want to go for a walk with your spouse, or maybe you want to go to the gym. Negotiate with your stakeholders that little bit of time that you need to recharge. A total of one hour a day can be sufficient and then you can turn over the other seven hours, for work days, and 15 hours, for weekends, to give and connect with your family and friends.

Focusing on the quality of your personal life first cannot only avoid having to cut down on your work time but can also greatly increase your energy and passion.

Sabah Al Binali is an active investor and entrepreneurial leader, with a track record of financing, building and growing companies in the Mena region. You can read more of his thoughts at al-binali.com

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