B2B with a Twist Publication - Work • Stay • Play October Edition Work Stay Play Winter 2018 Edition | Page 20

B2B - Keeping you in the know
Work Life
Many of us are ‘time poor’,
constantly rushing to juggle
different commitments.
Australia has fallen behind the
rest of the developed world
in trying to achieve a healthy
balance between work and
life outside work.
• parents (particularly mothers, and even more so single
mothers)
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A good work-life balance means you have harmony between
different aspects of your life, where benefits gained from
each area can support and strengthen the others. Work-
life integration is a new concept, where many people are
learning to blend their work and personal lives successfully. • people who are caring for others, such as sick, elderly or
disabled relatives
Who is most affected? • people in certain occupations, including managers,
professionals and those in the mining industry
The Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI) is a survey that
measures work-life interference, or the tendency for work to
have a negative impact on other areas of life. It shows that
certain groups are more affected than others by work-life
interference. They include:
• women (who generally have worse work-life outcomes
than men, and do around twice as much caring and
domestic work)
• the ‘sandwich generation’ (women who care for children
as well as elderly or sick relatives have the worst work-life
outcomes)
Flexible working hours can be helpful, but working from
home can be a double-edged sword and can actually have a
negative impact on work-life balance.
Years of research have shown that working is generally good
for mental and physical health and wellbeing. The benefits of
work include: