{"id":1257,"date":"2016-03-16T20:45:06","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T19:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/adc\/?p=1257"},"modified":"2016-02-27T11:45:35","modified_gmt":"2016-02-27T10:45:35","slug":"work-life-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/adc\/2016\/03\/16\/work-life-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Work-Life Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"original\"Of course, you’ve got to maintain a work life balance.<\/p>\n

Of course you have.<\/p>\n

Of course.<\/p>\n

And, while we’re at it, we should discuss getting a life.\u00a0 We discussed just that down at my local “Get a life” club recently. \u00a0(Joke courtesy of Barry Crier).<\/p>\n

But I’d like to put forward a different perspective. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are a number of clich\u00e9s about over-work, many of them with real truth.\u00a0 I don’t much enjoy social functions where the only topic of conversation is medicine, and folk who tend to work all the time tend to be a bit tiring, and a bit dull, to be around.<\/p>\n

But here’s the thing.\u00a0 We happen to do a job which is, for the most part, interesting, challenging, rewarding, and very well paid in comparison to the vast majority of people in society.\u00a0 It is often even fun.\u00a0 So, why should enjoying this, and being happy about being at work be somehow on the different side of a balance to “life”?<\/p>\n

If I attempt to define myself by the things I do and the fact that they’re important to me – and, perhaps, other people – then I’d include being a husband, a father, a paediatrician, and editor.\u00a0 If I were not a paediatrician or an editor I would be a different sort of husband and father – but not necessarily a better, kinder or happier one.<\/p>\n

My life is the totality of what I do.\u00a0 Part of my life is that Sunday morning ward round – which I don’t really like – and that cheeky 3 year old in clinic – which I really do.\u00a0 Part of my life is time with my family and time away from them.\u00a0 Part of my life is sitting puzzling over how I’m going to express myself in this post, and part of it is reading other people express themselves better.<\/p>\n

The phrase Work\/Life balance suffers from one of two flaws.<\/p>\n

It either implies that the definition of life is so narrow that it includes nothing outside a narrowly prescribed selection of leisure activities. Or it implies that while working we are not living.<\/p>\n

So, how about we drop the lazy dichotomy. \u00a0We could call it work\/not work balance. \u00a0Or I’m sure you could come up with some other alternatives. \u00a0Our profession has had a pounding in the last few weeks, months and years, so let’s stop joining in with that negativity, and acknowledge how much our work enriches us.<\/p>\n

Addendum: \u00a0Just after I’d drafted this, I saw this<\/a>\u00a0from Alain de Botton at The School of Life, which offers a good different perspective.<\/p>\n