Going to college and working hard to get promoted are the ideal ways to make sure you enjoy your life. Right? Isn’t it supposed to be that way? In many cases, sadly, it’s not.
Well-educated professionals are more likely to let their jobs interfere with their lives, say researchers from the University of Toronto. They say that as many as 50% of people take their work home with them regularly. The new research, published in the journal American Sociological Review, details the stress associated with work-life balance and factors that may predict it.
To measure the extent work interfered with personal time, researchers used data from a national survey of 1,800 American workers. Sociology professor Scott Schieman from the University of Toronto and coauthors Melissa Milkie from the University of Maryland and PhD student Paul Glavin from the University of Toronto asked study participants questions, such as:
- How often does your job interfere with your home or family life?
- How often does your job interfere with your social or leisure activities?
- How often do you think about things going on at work when you are not working?
Researchers found that many people were answering “sometimes”‘ or “frequently,” to the above questions. They believe that’s troubling given the documented negative health impact of not having a good work-life balance.
Specifically, researchers found that those with college or postgraduate degrees reported their work interferes with life more than those with a only a high school diploma. The work-related demands that predict work interfering with personal life include job insecurity, interpersonal conflict at work, noxious environments and high-pressure situations.
Job authority, job skill level, decision-making latitude and personal earnings predict that work may interfere with home life often. For tips on recognizing if you have a work-life balance problem and how to solve it, visit Mayo Clinic, Work-life balance: Ways to restore harmony and reduce stress.
How do you keep your work from interfering with your life?
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Post from: Blisstree