(LOS ANGELES) (JUNE 1, 2021) Maintaining work-life balance has always been challenging, but it’s been made even more difficult by the pandemic, explains Dr. Michele Nealon, licensed clinical psychologist and president of The Chicago School. A study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that women are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis – in both the workplace and at home.
“Women often carry a disproportionate burden in the workplace. This is in terms of both physical workload and emotional labor,” said Dr. Nealon. “At home, it’s usually the same, regardless of the changing times. All of this means that when the most impactful global health crisis of our generation hit, disparities increased, as did women’s stress.”
When the pandemic forced Americans home to work and learn, women took on a greater share of responsibilities, including facilitating online learning for their children, and taking care of household duties. The McKinsey study also found that during the pandemic, women were most likely to feel pressure to work more, and to consistently feel burnout and exhaustion.
“It is particularly difficult to find work-life balance during this time, but women must be intentional about achieving it,” said Dr. Nealon. “The alternative leads to overstress, burnout and an undermining of our physical and emotional health. The goal is not to achieve perfect balance, but to actively and continually cultivate healthy work-life balance.”
Dr. Nealon offers the following advice for help in creating healthy work-life balance.
Change your mindset. Recognize that no one is perfect, and be okay with doing your best with your given resources. Know that if you always think you’re not being productive enough, you’re likely underestimating your level of productivity. Finally, when you make mistakes, don’t belabor them. Forgive yourself.
Share the workload. You can’t do everything and be all things to everyone. Ask for help and share the workload.
Set boundaries. Determine what you can and can’t do, will, and won’t do. Establishing boundaries and sticking to them lessens the possibility of becoming overburdened.
Make room for flexibility. When creating your schedule or ordering your tasks by priority, give yourself room for flexibility. Structure doesn’t negate flexibility.
Engage in self-care. Be intentional and do things that are just for you, or that relax you or take you away from your responsibilities.
“Prior to the pandemic, many women in the workforce often felt they worked two shifts – one at work, and one at home. There was still a need to create a work-life balance. It’s just more urgent now,” said Dr. Nealon.
For resources on mental and behavioral health, go to http://www.thechicagoschool.edu/insight/.
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