LIFE-FAMILY-WORK

Leisure and the cultivation of human capacities

are inextricably interdependent.

                         -     Margaret Mead

Each of us has multiple roles and responsibilities that we need to juggle.  It is difficult to keep all balls in the air when some of them weigh considerably heavier than others.  Oftentimes, it is our work responsibilities that weigh us down, get us off-balance, and cause us to drop a few of the other balls.

Whether we work inside or outside of the home, our work is an important aspect of our identity and development.  It allows us to utilize our unique skills, make a living, and/or contribute to the welfare of ourselves, our families, and our communities. 

We all “live to work” and “work to live” to some degree.  The key is to keep them in balance and not have either one become an extreme.  There are reasons why we are at times more inclined to veer towards one instead of the other.

For instance, when we are under financial pressure, especially if children and others depend on us, we are more likely to see our jobs as a way to pay the bills and put food on the table.  We are vulnerable of getting into a “work to live” mode and often believe that for the time being, our paycheck or contributions are more important than our personal fulfillment. 

Unfortunately, a day often becomes a week, a week a month, and a month a year.  When we become stuck in a less than ideal work situation because of habit, outside pressures, obligations, fear, and/or lack of transferable training and skills the effects on our wellbeing, health, and relationships can be detrimental.

Most recently, many of us have felt increased pressure to “work to live”.  Current events and our economic crisis have negatively affected many families causing a complete loss in income or a significant loss in job security.  Lay-offs, mergers, and acquisitions have taken their toll nationwide, and our logical response has been to work harder and longer to beat the competition to ensure our survival.

However, it is necessary for our minds to consult with our bodies and spirits, as well as other significant people in our lives, to find how they are faring under such conditions.  It is hard to be at our best when aspects of our lives are significantly off-balance.  It is also important to monitor our thoughts, feelings, and behavior to help us deal with existential anxiety in the most positive manner and to stay open to all possible options and opportunities that can arise out of these challenging times.

Some of us may love our jobs so much that we “live to work” and claim to “thrive” in these times.  Because our culture is one that promotes “doing” and “having” over “being” and glorifies workaholism, it is easy to get caught up in such thinking and to start defining ourselves completely by the salary, status, privileges, recognition and/or fulfillment we get on a daily basis by doing our jobs well.

Nevertheless, it is important to examine what aspects of ourselves or people in our lives get short-changed when work becomes all-consuming and we have no off-the-job passions left.   Watch our for signs such as health problems, impoverished social/love life, impatience or not fully present with self or others, restlessness and emptiness when not working, inability to enjoy leisure activities or down-time, road rage, and job burn-out or low morale.  It may be difficult at first to make connections between work and unmet needs of the core self, but slowing down at work and paying close attention to neglected parts of ourselves can lead us to enlightening answers.

SELF-OTHERS>