Work-life balance

Key facts

Work-life balance is about managing the demands of your work or study and your personal life in a way that helps prevents burnout.
A good work-life balance means you can be productive at work and have time for yourself and your family.
If you have a casual job or work from home, it can be harder to draw a line between work time and home time.
If you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, this is not a sign of weakness — it is more common than you may realise.
It is important to ask for help and support when you need it

What is work-life balance?

Work-life balance refers to the juggle between the demands of work and your home and family life. If you struggle with work-life balance, you might find that you are often rushing. You might be feeling overwhelmed when trying to manage different commitments. This can leave you feeling like you are not doing any tasks well.

If you work long hours, it can be difficult to achieve a healthy balance between work and your personal life. Working long hours may:

impact your physical and mental health
make your work unsafe
increase your stress levels
cut into time for leisure or 'top up' activities

If you can find a good work-life balance you should have harmony (most of the time) between your work and other aspects of your life. You should not feel long lasting overwhelm from your either your work or home demands. Work-life balance can help with your wellbeing at work. Outside of work you will have time to spend on other things, such as:

caring for yourself
caring for your family
leisure activities

You can support your overall wellbeing if you are able to spend time on:

personal care
socialising
hobbies
relaxation

It's important to prioritise your wellbeing. There is more to life than paid work or chores. Without fun or 'play' your wellbeing will suffer.

Who has poor work-life balance?

Australians work hard. You might be one of the 13% of people (more than 1 in 10) working over 50 hours per week. This is considered 'very long hours' by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Working overtime is common, especially if you are young, male or in a full-time job.

If you have a family, you might feel pressure to both provide for them by working and care for them by doing tasks at home.

If you are studying and also doing paid work, it can be difficult to find good balance in your life.

What are the positives and negatives of work?

While not everyone is able to work, employment can benefit your mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Work can:

provide you with a daily routine and structure
build your self esteem
offer meaning and purpose to your life
be a source of friendships
provide you with a sense of community
give you financial independence

Unemployment, on the other hand, can contribute to poor mental and physical health.

If you need to talk to someone about your mental health, call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

You might find there are downsides to working that can add to feelings of stress. Some examples are:

feeling isolated or lonely at work
getting few rewards for your efforts
worry about losing your job or not getting shifts
lack of control in the job
feeling unsafe at work if you are tired from very long hours or shift work
pressure to stay connected to work at the weekend or to check emails when on holiday
doing work that does not give you satisfaction or is the 'wrong fit'

If you can find a good balance between work and other demands, you are likely to:

be happier
be more productive
take fewer sick days
stay in your job for longer

Flexible hours and working from home can be helpful if this is possible in your job. You can ask your employer about flexible working arrangements.

Burnout

Burnout is when you:

Can't shift the feeling of being mentally and physically exhausted
have a lack interest at work
dread or avoid going to work
feel overwhelmed and emotionally drained
find it hard to complete simple daily tasks
feel unproductive

Burnout may:

cause physical symptoms like stomach pains, headaches and sleep disturbances
make it hard to concentrate or be creative
lead to negative feelings about your co-workers and a lack of confidence in your own ability to function at work
cause a lack of enthusiasm or drive to do your work well

You may get burnout if you give all your energy on your work for a long time and not enough energy to your health, family and friends.

Burnout is usually a significant and persistent form of work-related stress. You might feel like you are having a nervous breakdown. It can also be due to other parts of your life, such as being a long-term carer.

Tips for a healthy work-life balance

Know your values

Try to spend some time thinking about and working towards what is important to you in life, like your:

passions
hobbies
Interests
values

Think about how often you make time for these things. You can set goals to help you both get your work done and also spend more time on your priorities in life.

Practice time management

Sometimes, you may wonder where the day has gone. There are many useful methods for keeping track of how you spend your time, like:

calendars
apps
to-do lists

You could review a typical week and see if you can use your time better. You might be able to save time by:

shopping online instead of in person
working from home a couple of days a week to reduce your commute
seeing if some meetings or tasks can be done by phone, video or email instead of in person

If social media is swallowing chunks of your day, you can try to manage your time by putting your phone somewhere away from your workspace or turning it off.

Set boundaries

It is important to separate work time and home time. Sometimes, it can be hard to say no to your colleagues or to your family and friends.

It can help to set boundaries. You could try to:

set limits on your work time and let people know when you will be off-line
step away from your phone and turn off your work emails
go internet-free for a few hours
pre-plan time for other activities that you enjoy
plan when you will sleep, to ensure you have enough energy for all parts of your life

If you are feeling overwhelmed in your personal or work life, there may be someone who can share the load. You can ask your family or employer for support.

Enjoy your work

Enjoying your work can help maintain a work-life balance. If you enjoy your work this helps keep you motivated and focussed. But most jobs can sometimes be tedious or stressful.

If you are feeling as though your work is overwhelming or you or your work are not good enough, this can cause stress. You can talk to your employer about this. They can provide you with support and feedback.

You can help create enjoyment for your work by:

building connections with your colleagues
learning new skills
setting goals and rewarding yourself for completing them
taking regular leave

If you strongly dislike your job or a heavy workload makes your life feel impossible, it might be time for a change.

Ask your employer about flexible work arrangements. See if you can move to a different team or retrain.

You could use few hours a week trying out a small business idea. This could allow you to think through a new way of making a living.

Review your finances

If you have less work than you need to cover your bills and expenses, this will be a source of stress and can impact your mental health. If you can find ways to spend less money maybe you can manage with fewer work hours and have more time to yourself.

You can try to save money by:

only buying things you need
buying second-hand instead of purchasing brand new items
making lunch at home instead of getting take away

You can also see if you are eligible for some government cost of living support (Opens in new tab).

Nurture relationships

Positive relationships and social support help you to build resilience. Having a support network can help you manage your work-life balance and stress levels. This network can include your employer and colleagues.

Strong relationships take time to nurture and develop.

To balance your work and life, try to prioritise quality time on your own and with your:

family
friends
neighbours
loved ones

Focus on your health

Focusing on your health can help you manage your work-life balance too.

Regular exercise is known to help:

reduce stress, anxiety and depression
improve concentration
improve your memory

Try to:

get enough sleep at regular times
eat healthy food
drink alcohol in moderation
avoid illegal drugs

Have down time

Taking time to rest and recharge is vital to help you succeed in what is important to you. Schedule regular time off for yourself each week to do activities you enjoy, such as:

relaxing
reading a book
playing or watching sport
spending time in nature
doing nothing

Daily actions to improve your mental health - Research from MindSpot has shown that regularly performing five simple daily actions can improve your mental health.

Resources and support

Finding a healthy balance between work and personal life can be hard, but help is available.

You can try one of these apps and tools to help manage stress, anxiety and burnout.

The Smiling Mind mindfulness app (Opens in new tab).
A MindSpot (Opens in new tab) or This Way Up (Opens in new tab) free online program, to help manage stress and anxiety
Visiting the Mensline Australia (Opens in new tab) website for tips on how to cope with burnout (Opens in new tab)

You can also:

talk to your doctor, who can help you with mental health concerns.
visit Lifeline (Opens in new tab) for free telephone counselling 24 hours a day. Call 13 11 14. They also provide also online support and text support.
visit Beyond Blue (Opens in new tab) for free 24-hour telephone counselling (call 1300 22 4636) and online support.
Visit MensLine (Opens in new tab) for free online counselling and 24-hour phone support on 1300 78 99 78.

For advice and to get connected to local mental health services, call Medicare Mental Health (Opens in new tab) on 1800 595 212. Check the operating times.

If you live in Victoria and are employed by a business with less than 200 staff, you can call the Worker Mental Health Support Helpline (Opens in new tab) on 1800 318 421, 24 hours a day.

You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.