Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Ch: 7 Work/Life Conflict (Week 4)
Chapter 7 introduces the term of work/life conflict, which virtually means what is said. Work/life conflict is when an individuals personal life can interfere with their work life and/or vice versa. The only times I experience this conflict is when I'm at work but would rather be out with friends or if I'm at work on a holiday and would rather be with family. Work/life conflict doesn't affect me as much as it does other people. My boyfriend works for Ernst & Young and works up to 80 hours a week during 'busy season,' which means that I rarely get to see him and if I do, I'm making all the sacrifices in order to do so. I think that my boyfriend experiences this work/life conflict more than I do because sometimes his job does make our relationship more difficult. He is unable to balance his personal life with his work life because his job can be too demanding at times. The times that he is able to relax at home and do absolutely nothing, he almost always receives work related emails which makes him start thinking about work and everything he has to get done in the office. When this happens, it makes it difficult for him to enjoy his leisurely time because he now has work on the mind again. Work/life conflicts are not only difficult for the individuals experiencing it but also for close parties involved.
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4 comments:
Hi Aloha,
The work/life conflict is indeed difficult to manage, especially in our high-tech world. Like the text discusses, email, blackberries, etc. have enabled us to stay connected to work 24/7. This makes it very difficult to separate our personal lives from business. We also often times socialize with our coworkers; I think this also blurs the line between work and play. It can be quite exhausting trying to manage the work/life conflict when you work a demanding job, like your boyfriend does.
I work from home, so the lines between work and home are completely blurred if not non-existent at times. It certainly has its cons, but there are also many, many pros.
Work is definitely hard to balance with other priorities, especially during busy times.
When I was first promoted to supervisor, work would affect my personal life because I'd be constantly worrying about the store. I'd even have dreams about things going wrong! When they were thinking of promoting me to manager, I knew I had to quit, because the stress was affecting my personal life and my schoolwork.
I feel for your boyfriend having to deal with work issues at home - I think email has been a huge factor when it comes to work stress, because you come home, wanting to relax, and then you have to read a bunch of work related things.
Aloha- The work/life conflict is definitely one that gets in the the way for many people. I was really shocked when you mentioned that your boyfriend works about 80 houre a week, that must really be difficult. Sometimes for many people, this is what causes them to get sick because they are always stressed out. I understand that a job is a job, and that we all have responsibilities, but I also think that people really just need to take a break sometimes.
I completely agree with you when you say work/conflict is not only difficult for the individual but difficult for close parties involved. I go through the same thing...My boyfriend and I both work at the bank and we're both constantly fighting for time with each other because work takes up a lot of our time. We both have different positions, so therefore, we both have different tasks as employees. Some tasks may be more difficult than others, requiring the other individual to work longer than expected. Also, besides my boyfriend and I being involved with work/life conflict, it's something that I've experienced as a child because my mom is a work a holic and is constantly at work. She is an accounting manager, therefore deadlines are her number one priority. Trying to ask my mom for attention is difficult yet, I know the responsibility she has as an accounting manager. I guess life isn't always easy.
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