Work-Life Balance in Corporate: Living Well In Your Role

Sprinting from sprint to sprint? Something’s gotta give—and it shouldn’t have to be you. 

Introduction

Feeling like your life got swallowed whole by your new corporate gig? Trust us—you’re not alone. 83% of workers in large enterprises experience higher-than-average work stress, and the U.S. economy alone loses $300 billion dollars annually from job stress and worker burnout.

Why? 

Simple. 

No one warns you that “entry-level” work on a corporate scale means entry into a world with no boundaries or work-life balance. 

You’re expected to be constantly available at the expense of everything else; and the weight of that expectation alone is crushing.

If you’re sick of jumping every time Slack goes off, we’re here to encourage you: It doesn’t have to be that way. 

It’s time to master work-life balance—specifically corporate work-life balance—and personal boundaries. 

Oh, and, reader? 

You deserve better. Even if it feels overwhelming right now. 

Our experts are here to help you get to “better,” whatever that looks like in your own personal work-life balance balancing act.

Read on to learn more.  

Corporate Work-Life Balance: No It’s Not A Myth, Here’s What To Know 

Before finding some semblance of work-life balance in your personal life, we have to determine what that usually looks like in the corporate world. And we’ll be the first to tell you: it goes much deeper than fancy, free meditation rooms and all-you-can-eat cafeterias. 

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Work-life balance looks like closing your laptop at 5 pm sharp without gnawing guilt or fear you’ll get fired. 

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It also looks like saying “yes” to Thursday night drinks and dinner with friends without checking Slack 4,821 times. 

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Really, it looks like whatever you need it to at the time—you’re human, and your needs are fluid. No matter what it looks like, though, you reserve the right to “shut off” from work after office hours are over: and work-life balance is the result of all boundaries you set that help you do that.

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Clearing The Air: Corporate Work-Life Balance Myths to Ignore

“You have to pay your dues.”
“Every enterprise is like this.”
“You’re entry-level. You have to show your dedication.” 

“This is just ‘how it is.’” 

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If you’ve been told any of these unfortunate things, we’d like to clarify something: none of them are true. 

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These are common fallbacks that seniors in your corporate org may tell you, because they WERE the norm years ago. Today, researchers and managers are well-versed in the effects of stress on the body and psyche—and workplaces are taking their commitment to work-life balance more seriously than they were in previous decades. 

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It’s impossible to deliver quality work and shareholder value when you’re exhausted and sending emails at 2 AM—routinely—every night. That’s just a fact. 

Finding Work-Life Balance in a Corporate Role: Strategies and Tips 

The very technology that helped us get hired—our phones and laptops—are the very things robbing us of well-deserved peace at the end of a chaotic work day. 

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Corporate work-life balance will be impossible to maintain until you get comfortable saying “no,” and drawing boundaries around every important area of your life. 

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Scared? Overwhelmed? Worried that you’ll get fired? 

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Here’s the thing: Your time is finite. Your time in the workplace is even more so. You owe it to yourself to attempt to find work-life balance by any means necessary—and setting these boundaries is an act of self-love, self-care, and self-respect. 

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If you’re not sure where to start, consider these practical options from our HR and hiring experts: 

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• Set app limits. Slack, Drive, and your inbox will be there in the morning. Explore your phone settings and set locks and app time limits during certain points in the afternoon and evening to keep your time truly “yours.” 
• Separate working areas from sleeping areas. This is hard if you live in a small space, or in a space with no home office. But doing this has actually been proven to improve your sleep quality and mental health. 
• Use DND. Unapologetically. DND, or “do not disturb,” is a feature on most smartphones that allows your friends and family to reach you—but not work. Toggle your settings and personalize your phone’s operability to your schedule, shutting off the distractions after office hours are over. 
• Take the PTO. Just do it. Your PTO is there for you to use whenever you need it. Don’t fall into the trap of “fear” that you’ll get fired if you take it. You won’t!

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Takeaway 

Let’s face it: The corporate world isn’t changing anytime soon. But your approach and response to it can. Setting boundaries like the ones above are tremendously helpful to maintaining corporate work-life balance; but the real secret to success is in you. You have to believe that you’re worth the time and effort it takes to set boundaries. And you also have to believe that your ability to find and maintain work-life balance isn’t weakness or a lack of dedication—it’s actually a cognitive choice rooted in self-respect and self-awareness. 

So—take that vacation on PTO. Take time for a few deep breaths after lunch. Slam your laptop shut at 5 pm and head out to drinks with friends. You have a life to live—both in and out of the workplace. 

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