Work-Life Balance: Why It Matters

We’ve heard of this before – work-life balance is important if you want to keep working and be happy. It means being able to prioritize between work and career and personal life, such as leisure and family time.

More recently, the importance of this balance once again made itself clear. On Feb. 19, a young advertising strategist for agency Ogilvy and Mather passed away, after reportedly working overtime while suffering from pneumonia. On Feb. 15, the International Labor Organization came out with a report stating that working from home can “disrupt work-life balance.”

Mark Dehesa’s Death: Taking A Closer Look At Overwork

According to an Adweek report, Dehesa was reportedly working on a project from early Friday morning until late night, when he asked to be brought to the hospital. A few days later, he died due to complications from pneumonia. Another Ogilvy employee, Jeff Stelton, who worked with Dehesa before, acknowledged the fact that those in the agency will do everything to give their best work to their clients. He wrote in his Facebook post: “We do it almost to the point of martyrdom; sacrificing our time with our families, dates with our loved ones, but most importantly, our health.”

He called on those in the industry to stop this “unnecessary martyrdom,” by saying “no” to unreasonable work demands. Stelton however qualified his post later on, saying that he is not claiming that Dehesa’s death was indeed due to overwork.

ILO: Working From Home And Work-Life Balance

On Feb. 15, ILO shared its report “Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world work,” which highlighted the positive and negative effects of high technology on those who work.

While technology empowered people to work from home or telework, it allowed workers to become more productive. In countries such as the Philippines, teleworking is a practical alternative because workers need not spend so much time traveling to and from their place their work. It also lessens overhead expenses because office space will not be as expensive.

Teleworking and the ubiquitous presence of technology however has its dark side. It “blurs the boundaries between work and personal life, depending on the place of work and the characteristics of different occupations,” according to one of the report authors, Jon Messenger. The report also highlighted that those who work from home usually “work longer hours” and “have higher levels of stress” because work and life tend to overlap.

Both news reports, although coming from different perspectives, underline the importance of keeping a work-life balance, which is essential to one’s well-being.