If you\u2019re a parent, you know all too well that back-to-school time is the equivalent of an ultramarathon. Buying the items on the school list, registering for various extracurricular activities, checking that their clothes are still the right size, labeling their belongings\u2026 And it doesn\u2019t stop there! You also have to catch up on all the unread emails during your vacation, reconnect with team meetings to continue the year properly, and dive back into your to-do list. Unfortunately, exhaustion often awaits us at the end of this sequence, even though the school year has only just begun. If you recognize yourself in this scenario, you\u2019re not alone in experiencing it.<\/p>\n
Indeed, a report published in 2023 following an investigation conducted by Concilivi – R\u00e9seau pour un Qu\u00e9bec Famille shows that in Quebec, work-life balance remains a significant source of stress for a majority (66%) of parents of young children. It should be clarified here that work-life balance refers to the search for balance between the requirements and responsibilities related to work life and family life. The imbalance reported by many parents corresponds rather to work-family conflict. This lack of balance is not without risk.<\/p>\n
For example, certain studies report that work-family conflict situations are associated with anxiety and mood disorders in women, whereas in men, they are related to an increase in alcohol dependence and drug use. In addition to having mental health effects, work-family conflict can negatively affect physical health, lifestyles, romantic relationships, and feelings of parental competence. Furthermore, the parent-child relationship can suffer; certain studies show that parents who report experiencing more tension related to work-life balance are at greater risk of shouting, raising their voice, getting angry on a daily basis, and losing their patience when their children ask for attention.<\/p>\n
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Time Conflicts:<\/strong> These happen when the requirements of the different roles make time management difficult. For example, having to work until 5:30 p.m. while the daycare located 20 minutes away (without traffic!) closes at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n Conflicts Related to Tension Between Roles:<\/strong> The more roles people take on, the more likely they are to suffer from pressure, a feeling of being overloaded, and stress. For example, being a worker, a parent, and a caregiver.<\/p>\n Behavioral Conflicts:<\/strong> These appear when a behaviour specific to one role is incompatible with what is expected in another role. For example, having to be direct and authoritative at work when that\u2019s the opposite of what you want to be at home.<\/p>\n Several other elements contribute to a high level of work-family conflict, such as the particularly fast pace of life in our society, the cult of urgency, performance pressure, and the increasing expectations of success that surround us.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There are a few ideas that can help you better reconcile your different roles and generally improve your well-being in the face of them:<\/p>\n The Strength of Flexibility:<\/strong> Benefiting from a flexible work schedule will allow you to adapt to the vagaries of family life. At the same time, having support from those around you can help you meet the demands of work when they are less flexible. Taking the time to discuss your needs and expectations with your loved ones, as well as with your employer, can be an excellent starting point.<\/p>\n Slow Down:<\/strong> Doing several things at once (multitasking) can be very tempting in order to accomplish everything you need to get done. However, performing two or more tasks at the same time is much more tiring for the brain than solving a single difficult exercise. To promote your well-being, it\u2019s necessary to know how to block out distractions. So, there\u2019s no point to ordering sushi over the phone while signing your eldest\u2019s agenda and reading an email from your boss. Your brain will be overheated and less effective at managing each of these tasks. Learn to lower your expectations, make a to-do list, and tackle each task one by one. Meditation can be a good ally to learn how to focus on one thing at a time.<\/p>\n Return to Your Values:<\/strong> Values are the basic principles that guide your life. They are like a compass that orients your choices and actions. Returning to what is most important to you can help you organize your schedule, which will correspond more to who you are. Defining five core values and writing them down somewhere visible on a daily basis could help you anchor yourself during moments where you feel caught in the whirlwind of work-life balance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Values guide your behaviours, choices, and decisions. They reflect what you believe, respect, and deem important. However, if you don\u2019t really know your values or don\u2019t respect them, you may feel like you\u2019re going around in circles in your life, searching for fleeting pleasures, or generally feeling less satisfaction, as an important element will be missing: meaning.<\/p>\n Thinking about your values may seem simple, but in reality, many people don\u2019t know where to start to define them better. One of the first authors to take an interest in values is psychologist Shalom H. Schwartz. One of his theories posits 10 basic values (autonomy, stimulation, hedonism, success, power, safety, conformity, tradition, kindness, and universalism) from which other authors have started over time to expand the list. For example, adventure, freedom, and justice have been added.<\/p>\n To help you define yours, don\u2019t hesitate to use an online search engine to find a list of values as well as their definitions. Take the time to carry out the exercise properly and think about what is important to you. That way, you can better anchor yourself in life.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Tremblay, D.- G. (2019). Conciliation emploi-famille et temps sociaux<\/em> (4th ed.). Presses de l\u2019Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n Ferland, F. (2021). Petit guide pour parents \u00e9puis\u00e9s : Vers un quotidien plus serein<\/em>. \u00c9ditions CHU Sainte-Justine.<\/p>\n Lina, V. (host). (April 2021). \u201cMa place au travail avec Myriam Lapointe-Gagnon\u201d (no. 21) [podcast episode]. In Parents pour la premi\u00e8re fois<\/em>.<\/p>\n Zephyr, L. & Brazeau, J. (hosts). (September 2022). \u201cAvoir h\u00e2te de retourner au travail\u201d (no. 44) [podcast episode]. In \u00c7a va maman ?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n Allen, T. D., Herst, D. E., Bruck, C. S., & Sutton, M. (2000). \u201cConsequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research.\u201d Journal of Occupational Health Psychology<\/em> 5(2), 278-308.<\/p>\n Boulet, M. & Le Bourdais, C. (2016). \u201cPratiques de conciliation travail-famille et d\u00e9tresse psychologique des salari\u00e9s qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois : une comparaison selon le genre.\u201d Relations industrielles\/ Industrial Relations<\/em> 71(3), 442\u2013467.<\/p>\n Institut national de sant\u00e9 publique du Qu\u00e9bec. (2005). \u201cLa difficult\u00e9 de concilier travail-famille : ses impacts sur la sant\u00e9 physique et mentale des familles qu\u00e9b\u00e9coises.\u201d<\/p>\n Vahedi, A., Krug, I., & Westrupp, E. M. (2019). \u201cCrossover of parents\u2019 work-family conflict to family functioning and child mental health.\u201d Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology<\/em> 62, 38 \u201349.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Photo: \u00a9 Bianca Des Jardins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re a parent, you know all too well that back-to-school time is the equivalent of an ultramarathon. Buying the items on the school list, registering for various extracurricular activities, checking that their clothes are still the right size, labeling their belongings\u2026 And it doesn\u2019t stop there! You also have to catch up on all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":65073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-societe-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65076"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65230,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65076\/revisions\/65230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stromspa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How to Promote Well-Being Through Work-Life Balance<\/h3>\n
A Brief Note About Values<\/h3>\n
Resources to Delve Deeper<\/h3>\n
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