Work-life wellbeing

Work and health

There are strong links between good health and work. Being out of work can lower self-esteem and confidence. Your health can also have a direct impact on how well you do your job. If you are feeling happy and healthy you will work better than if you are feeling stressed or unwell and this will help create a better work / life balance.

Workplace wellbeing

Surveys estimate that over a lifetime the average fulltime worker spends about 90,000 hours at work, so it makes sense to think carefully about what we do, where we work and who we work with.  Those 90,000 hours represent about 1/3 of our total lifetime and therefore will have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing.

Work is good for us and our wellbeing - it brings structure to our lives and a sense of purpose and achievement.  It is often a source of social support and presents us with new challenges to keep us on our toes.

Moreover, being out of work can be a negative experience, impacting on our physical and mental wellbeing, lowering self-esteem, motivation and confidence.

Everyone’s personal experience of work will be different as there is so much variation out there, and sometimes things don’t work out as we would wish them to. 

Things feel good when work and home life are in balance, but sometimes the balance can tip, and we find ourselves too consumed with work or homelife to prioritise anything else.

The coping strategies we use when our lives feel out of balance can be a mixture of healthy and unhealthy.  Workplaces can be hugely supportive, positive and motivating in helping us choose healthy ways to manage our lives.  Access to education and training, healthcare cover, social/leisure opportunities can be a bonus but the culture and management practices of our workplace, bullying or intimidating workstyles, big workloads and lack of support can be harmful.