Introduction
The increased number of responsibilities peculiar to modern society along with the necessity to earn money resulted in a significant shift of priorities from traditional values like family and personal life to work and career. In this regard, the issue of the life-work balance becomes extremely topical nowadays. Numerous cases of overwork preconditioned the appearance of personal life, anxiety, and health problems. For this reason, the prior aim of this study is to analyze the main aspect of the life-work balance and determine why people fail to distribute their time to pay equal attention to work responsibilities and personal life. The improved understanding of their emotional sphere could help to live a full life. That is why the positive correlation between the emotional and social intelligence and the life-work balance and its impact on the quality of life could be considered the fundamental thesis of this study.
The importance of the research question is evidenced by numerous studies that find out that the majority of anxiety or health problems originate from overwork and the lack of satisfaction with the quality of life (Koubova & Buchko, 2013). Additionally, the increased topicality of the parent’s and children’s relations and their deterioration could be considered another fact that proves the significance of the life-work balance. Individuals who spend too much time working rarely see their children and cultivate negative changes in their consciousness. In such a way, the comprehensive investigation of the problem becomes crucial for the improved understanding of factors that impact individuals levels of satisfaction and their personal life.
Considering the main research question, the target audience of the study is comprised of employed individuals at the age of 30-50 who live in a marriage, have children, and spent too much time working. According to the latest statistics, this very population group is characterized as the most problematic one because of numerous personal crises they experience (Munn, 2013). The majority of individuals belonging to the target audience recognize the great need for change as they suffer from personal and health problems. That is why an efficient solution to the problem is fundamental to improving their quality of life.
Body
Delving into the issue, several factors should be mentioned. First, relevant studies have found out that there is an essential connection between the life-work balance and the emotional state of a person (Major & Germano, 2013). In other words, an individual who is not able to distribute time in the right way suffers from numerous personal problems. Moreover, the lack of free time undermines his/her ability to recover and preconditions the appearance of health problems starting from anxiety and ending with insomnia, headaches, hypertension, etc. A person suffering from a disease cannot be happy, and his/her emotional state suffers. Finally, the lack of personal time causes conflicts in a family. The combination of all these aspects has an adverse impact on an individual, his/her ability to perform different tasks, and enjoy life. In such a way, the improvement of the life-work balance should be considered as an attempt to enhance the quality of life and eliminate factors that threaten social and emotional spheres.
Another aspect that should be mentioned regarding the problem of the wrong balance is the relations between managers and employees (Todd & Binns, 2013). If a worker is not able to distribute his/her free time, the efficiency suffers significantly. It also affects careers and relations within the collective. On the other hand, managers who try to demonstrate their abilities and make their workers work long shifts contribute to the lack of free time and deterioration of final results. In this regard, the issue of life-work balance becomes topical for the sphere of management as companies functioning depends on it greatly. The decrease in the efficiency impacts the levels of salary and results in numerous conflicts in a family. A spouse does not earn enough money and does not devote time to children. In such a way, overwork preconditions the decrease in workers motivation and high level of stress.
References
Koubova, V., & Buchko, A. A. (2013). Life-work balance: Emotional intelligence as a crucial component of achieving both personal life and work performance. Management Research Review, 36(7), 700-719.
Major, D. A., & Germano, L. M. (2013). The changing nature of work and its impact on the work-home interface. In F. Jones, R. J. Burke, & M. Westman (Eds.), Work-life balance: A psychological perspective (pp. 13-38). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Munn, S. L. (2013). Unveiling the work-life system: The influence of work-life balance on meaningful work. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 15(4), 401-417.
Todd, P., & Binns, J. (2013). Work-life balance: Is it now a problem for management? Gender, Work, and Organization, 20(3), 219-231.