Work-Life Balance: Why, What and How?

Weekend Delights

Friday night to Monday morning, a time to unwind, rejuvenate and be geared to face another grueling week. Each one of us use this ‘my time’ is different ways. And why not, weekend is a time for expressing ourselves. We all have known the personalities featured here as astute business stalwarts; as life is more than just business, we at POLYMERS Communiqué, have started this section called ‘WEEKEND DELIGHTS’. Live life...

Dhvanit Shah

Head - Strategic Business All Time Plastics Pvt. Ltd.

Adventure sports and the outdoors is all that I can think of doing on any given weekend when I’m free. Among my favourites are taking my kayak out on lakes, exploring all the forts in and around Maharashtra and going on long cycle rides with friends. The remaining weekends are packed with reading, trips and family time.

I think that weekends are super important to rejuvenate, de-stress and get prepped for the next week in the grind.

Pranav Bhalara

Director Balaji Multi-Flex Pvt. Ltd.

Normally I don’t have a weekend off as we work on weekends too; but whenever I get a chance, I go to my farm where I am growing Miyawaki style forest.

Furthermore, I watch a movie with my kids and I prefer to spend time with my family. I am also an avid cooking person, so whenever I get the time, I prepare dishes for my family and friends.

Ravish Kamath

Founder / CEO Big Bags International Pvt. Ltd.

I believe weekends are the secret weapon in professional success. I spend my weekends participating in a combination of family activities, sometimes running errands for them, with a dash of creative activity to exercise the right side of the brain! I go to functions with friends and family, and even get involved in the local community. It’s good to disconnect - I have found even just a walk without the phone is liberating; water rafting is another activity that I sometimes indulge in. I advocate a ‘tech Sabbath’ at least from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening. I would like to hit Monday ready-to-go which is why I opt for the kind of weekend that rejuvenate, rather than exhaust or dry me out. Being with those I love gives me mental strength, and a combination of it all has made me a better strategic thinker than if I’d just worked all the time.

Hitesh Panchal

Managing Director Swift Auxi Technik Pvt. Ltd.

Weekend for me is all about reconnecting with my inner self. My morning starts with an energetic yoga and meditation session, followed by breakfast. I then spend my time reading books and spending the whole day with my family and loved ones doing activities that we all love like playing games, cooking and then a lazy afternoon and relaxing evening watching movies and TV shows that are on my wish list. Finally, it’s ending the weekend with planning for the next day.

Denzil K. Antony

Director Technorobotic Machines Pvt. Ltd.

Being an automotive enthusiast, I like spending my weekends going on long drives or going off-roading with my group of like-minded enthusiasts exploring new trails around Mumbai. Sometimes we just go for a quick breakfast run discussing cars.

Work-life balance has become quite the buzzword today; but what exactly does it mean and how does one go about achieving it? Read on to know...

Shirish V. Divgi

Managing Director, Milacron India, Ahmedabad After a long time I had the opportunity to take some time off my routine work and travel to my native place with my family. My extended family also joined me there. After spending some days together, I realised how important it is to press pause on the race you are running, take a step back for a while, and relive your childhood memories. The trip was extremely rejuvenating and revitalising for my emotional and mental well-being! More importantly, I also realised that people’s thought-process becomes very positive when their mind is relaxed as opposed to when it is engaged in the chakravyuh of everyday chores and challenges. Although it is imperative that we face these challenges and not run away from them, the approach we adopt to tackle them with a positive frame of mind makes all the difference. As the race to become better in a competitive environment continues, with opportunities presenting themselves through creative and unexpected avenues, we need to maintain our work-life balance as best as we can with good planning. It is also important to approach all personal plus professional responsibilities in a better and more effective way, especially when fulfilling bigger responsibilities. Having a clear idea about the goals we want to achieve within the limited time frame available to us and keeping a positive mindset really helps in achieving personal and professional goals. Cradled in the lap of nature at Kumta, a coastal town well known for its virgin beaches, seafood and friendly people, I decided to pen down all such reflections in the form of this article.

Why Work-Life Balance?

It is a known fact that maintaining a work-life balance contributes to a healthy work environment. It helps reduce stress and prevents burnout at the workplace and also improves efficiency and productivity. Every other day, newspapers report about youngsters facing stress issues, sometimes leading to their untimely death. This should not be neglected. This is not to say that we take a lackluster approach

Work-Life Balance

Why, What and How?

to our work and responsibilities, however it is also important to maintain a balance in all that we do. As with most subjective issues, there is no fixed recipe for all such problems. Ultimately it all depends on individuals, their work environment, their habits, mindsets, likes and dislikes.

Work-life balance has become the buzzword in today’s times, thanks to a large millennial workforce and increasing work pressures. The millennial generation is cognisant of the importance of a work-life balance and expects employers to make provisions at the workplace accordingly. Given that the millennial generation will constitute 75% of the workforce by 2025, employers must take these demands and expectations seriously.

A work environment that prioritises work-life balance will not only help employers save money,

As the race to become better in a competitive environment continues, with opportunities presenting themselves through creative and unexpected avenues, we need to maintain our work-life balance as best as we can with good planning.

but will also enable them to maintain a healthy and productive workforce. But what exactly does work-life balance mean? Well, that’s where things begin to get complicated. A work-life balance means different things to different people. The concept of a work-life balance has been constantly evolving over the years and it might be helpful for employers to understand what it means to different employees by conducting workshops or oneon-one discussions on a regular basis.

What Work-Life Balance?

A healthy work-life balance is not so much about splitting your time 50/50 between work and leisure as it is about feeling fulfilled in both areas of your life. It might entail meeting deadlines at work while still having time for hobbies, friends and family. It might mean being able to eat and sleep well without worrying about work when you are at home. Sounds simple, but can be challenging if, for example, you need to care for someone or have health issues or a demanding boss or both.

It’s easy to accept long working hours or extreme stress as normal, especially if you’ve been doing it for a long time or all your

To know more, please subscribe to Polymers Communiqué at subscriptions@polymerscommunique.com Our habits and

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become deeprooted unless we

take a step back and rethink them

every once in a while.