Work-Life Balance
The nature of my work is relatively busy, and I often go home late. My husband and children asked me to resign and spend more time taking care of the family. However, I still love my job. How can I take care of both my family and my career?
Work-Life Balance issues are common challenges faced by dual-income parents. Achieving a balance between family and career is of paramount importance. We hope the following suggestions can help you in achieving a balance between family and career.
Equitable division of household duties responsibilities
Mutual understanding, appreciation, and shared responsibility for household chores and child-rearing are crucial for a harmonious relationship between couples. An equitable division of household duties can effectively optimise the limited time of couples. We recommend that couples can create a detailed task list including household tasks, child-rearing responsibilities, and daily care. For instance, after work, the husband could pick up the children from school while the wife could prepare dinner. After dinner, the husband could wash the dishes while the wife could assist the children with their homework. By collaboratively undertaking responsibilities, you can establish a comfortable and warm home and alleviate stress for both parties. Also, it can help you in establishing a balance between family and career.
Creating 'quality family time'
'Quality family time' enables children to feel loved and fosters emotional connections among family members. We suggest that you and your husband allocate 10 to 15 minutes each day to enjoy food, talk about daily chores, watch a favourite TV show, and play a game with your children. Additionally, you can plan family activities, such as picnics, hiking, camping, and cycling during weekends or holidays to enjoy the beauty of nature together. Let your children feel your care and grow up surrounded by love.
Enhance communication between couples
You can communicate regularly with your husband to understand each other's needs and difficulties. And let your husband understand the significance of mutual responsibility in managing household tasks and child-rearing responsibilities to reduce chances of blaming each other. Moreover, you can express the importance of your career and your commitment to achieving a balance between family and work to your husband. Additionally, express your hope for his support and understanding. As genuine, open communication, empathy, and tolerance between couples are necessary elements for maintaining harmonious relationships and cultivating a blissful home.
Effective time management
Effective time management is crucial for achieving a balance between family and career. You need to learn how to separate work and family life and ensure adequate time is apportioned to both daily. For example, reduce unnecessary activities and schedule family events in advance. Additionally, you can create a work schedule and family schedule to ensure time allocation is reasonable and employ time management tools, such as calendars or to-do lists, to manage your schedule and ensure that the time allocation between family and work is balanced. You also need to focus on your family when you're at home, leave work matters at work, relax and enjoy your time with your family.
Achieving a balance between family and career is not simple. It is an ongoing process that requires constant effort and adaptation. Through these methods, we hope you will be able to achieve a balance between your family and your career.
Source: Mr. Chan, Social Work Consultant, Hong Kong Family Welfare Society
Share
