3 Work–life balance and professional boundaries

In this topic you will look at the necessity of making time and life away from your caring responsibilities, getting other people involved and the importance of professional boundaries.

You will probably have heard about the importance of work-life balance and how we need to achieve a ‘good work-life balance’ in order to be happy and successful. There are lots of posts, articles and video chats about it online, and we see it on television and read about it in newspapers and magazines. The problem with all this information is that it can make us feel like we are failing if we don’t have everything in check.

But for most of us a perfect work-life balance doesn’t exist! The balance part comes from coping with the ever-changing nature of life and work and this is where looking after yourself plays a big part.

For people whose work involves caring for others, either paid or unpaid, your work is an important part of life – it may help to pay the bills and gives a sense of purpose. Caring for others can be extremely rewarding. It can also be tiring, demanding and painful.

Work, though, is just a part of our lives. For some carers it feeds into every aspect of life, which is why finding a way to balance this part of life with everything else that’s important to us will make us feel more in control and therefore improve our well-being.