What is a
Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance involves equalizing the amount of time, effort and resources put towards personal and professional activities. Work-life balance is where one manages both work and non-work related obligations while maintaining health and wellbeing. Research shows that poor work-life balance may lead to lower career satisfaction, intention to leave academia, greater risk of burnout and decreased social interaction, which can be true among professors and graduate students.
Work-life balance refers to the ability to equally prioritize the demands of academic work with personal responsibilities. Students can take the following steps to achieve work-life balance. Students might ensure they balance school work with extracurricular activities, create to-do lists with measurable and achievable goals and use a time management tool to minimize procrastination. Faculty can strive for work-life balance by limiting the number of committees that they choose to serve on, finding a mentor or confidant within their academic department and making space for non-academic volunteer opportunities with close colleagues.