How Not To Let Work Sabotage Your Home Life

Undoubtedly, women are a huge economic force. According to the World Bank, the earning power of women globally is expected to reach $18 trillion by 2014. In Singapore, women comprise 56% of the labour force, and are encouraged to go back to work after having children. And yet, women are constantly being told that work and family don’t mix.

By: Sharlene Tan

“There’s no such thing as work-life balance”, proclaimed former General Electric CEO Jack Welch. As such, there have been calls for a new definition of work-life balance, as blogger The Mama Bee explains: “It doesn’t mean doing everything, and certainly doesn’t mean doing everything perfectly. It means making time for the things in life that are most important to you.”

Here are some ways that may help you juggle your career and your life:
 

Clearly define your priorities

Senior Minister of State Grace Fu recently told participants at a seminar: “Women do have to recognise that we have to balance and adjust our priorities along the way. At certain points in time, we may have to put family ahead and take a slower pace at work, while at other points, career can take greater priority if we have good family support.” Identify the goals you are trying to achieve in your life, write them down, and put them where you can see them everyday to make sure you’re headed down the right path.
 

Work smarter

Claire Shipman and Katy Kay, news correspondents and authors of Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success call for women to say no to non-family-friendly assignments and to set limits at work. As Shipman told Salon.com: “Women, particularly high-achieving women, tend to be perfectionists. And that’s one of the things that can hold us back… As women, we need to learn to be more strategic about the work we take on. Most of the time, good enough really is good enough.”
 

Protect your private time

You don’t skip work unless there’s something important, so make sure you treat your private time the same way. If Barack and Michelle Obama can take time off for a dinner date, so can you. So schedule in that movie with your husband and make sure you keep the date.
 

Don’t save it for the weekend

Weekends are precious, so try not to burn it up doing chores. Run some errands during your lunch hour and do some quick chores on weekday nights. That will free up your weekends and ensure that you have more time with your loved ones.
 

Nurture yourself too

Set aside some time for an activity that you enjoy. Take a walk, read a book, prepare your favourite meal. That time for yourself will allow you to unwind and relax, and shake off all that stress from work, so that you don’t take it out on your family.

Real-life juggling acts:

“I try to get into work as early as I can so I can accomplish what I need to do and leave work early… I compensate by working through lunch so I get as much done as possible. Another thing that works for me is that I’m ‘present’ at work and give it my 100%. The focus helps as I’m engaged in my work and am more effective in getting things done compared to my co-workers.”
– Esther Thio, learning and development manager, married for seven years.

“Women have to choose the right partner – someone she can trust to lead and make the best decisions. That’s the key for a woman to be able to juggle a career and a family. I think if you have a solid foundation of a relationship, everything else is fringe.”
- Marnie Khaw, engineer, married for nine years

“We try to have dinner together almost every night. Even if one of us has to work late, the other will wait. We also try to go on a ‘date’ once a month – usually it’s a new restaurant, or watching a movie. Sometimes we just rent a DVD and open a bottle of wine at home.”
- Charmaine Cheong, lawyer, married for two years

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