TED Talk Tuesday: Finding the Elusive Work-Life Balance

According to Nigel Marsh, author and marketer, work-life balance is too important to be left in the hands of your employer. After spending years trying to understand the much-ballyhooed work-life balance, he found that it lies within balancing family time, personal time and productivity.

Before work-life balance can be achieved, Marsh notes in a 2010 TED Talk, it’s important to have an honest debate about the issue to really make progress. He says that the first thing is acknowledging the reality of the situation you’re in at work. While dressing down may be a nice perk, it’ won’t solve the issue of giving too much to the job and not enough to your life and family.

“We have to be responsible for setting and enforcing the boundaries we want in our life,” said Marsh.

Marsh stresses that individuals should not put the responsibility to solve the work-life balance issue in the hands of government or corporations. To make work-life balance work it needs to be something people do for themselves. They are the only ones who are looking out for their best interest and know what is important to them.

Marsh notes that there should be balance. That means embracing the intellectual side, the emotional side and the spiritual side to see what works best for someone.

Although it seems there is a lot of work to be done to achieve a balanced work and life, Marsh suggests starting small.

“With the smallest investment in the right places, you can radically transform the quality of your relationships and the quality of your life,” he said.

Watch the full video here: TED