Dear friends, I do my best each day, and work till I'm exhausted. Even during weekends and holidays I am working hard. My family and friends appreciate this. I try to be a solution, and be very careful not to get into any trouble that will need too much time from family and friends. When friends need help that require sewing skills, a visit, etc, I'm always ready. The service that I can provide gives me joy, as does my research.

Role can never disturb a Work-life as there is clear ROLE ALIGNMENT & ATTENUATION based on the clarity to deliver is clearly understood by employees.... Actually switching off the mobile phone and not gleaming to the official emails at home can do better to self , subordinate development and empowerment to all concerned in the process of value chain to work

Dear friends, I do my best each day, and work till I'm exhausted. Even during weekends and holidays I am working hard. My family and friends appreciate this. I try to be a solution, and be very careful not to get into any trouble that will need too much time from family and friends. When friends need help that require sewing skills, a visit, etc, I'm always ready. The service that I can provide gives me joy, as does my research.

I agree life has demands on all fronts... balancing towards a meaningful living should be planned and appreciated during the stage of Manpower planning and Position / Role analysis...

Yes, my role affects my worklife to a certain limit. Smetimes,I am a perfectionist and I give more attention to details.

I fully realize the work habit of academics (especially myself) can be like a calm sea punctuated by horrendous storms (during deadlines). I have accepted these and seem to be able cope with the worst of it.

I would also like to add, that an important milestone to my work-life balance is when I'm just married and the transition between single and married life put a lot of pressure (especially during the storms) and my spouse need also to cope and accept my work habit.

@Debi, there is no attached paper as You have mentioned in the thread!

My problem is, how to distiguish work - you call it role - and life. Work is a part of my life, so you better should ask, is there anything else in your life but work, or how high is the percentage of time, you spent for your work.

Dear Debi, I try to have balance over years. So I found once compromise, as a women working for full time at university (being also occupational therapist in day care center) and wanting to have attention, for raising my own two children, during years. So I decided once not to apply for any administrative positions, which would consume lot of my time, I wanted to spend with my family.

Eveything else, without personally cutted ambitions, I did with calm balance without life disturbances.

Dear Hanno, good points. I agree.

There's no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences. - Jack Welch

Dear Debi

It is inevitable that work affects life. You only have those 24 hours. It is a choice you make and be happy with it.

Here are two quizzes you can take.

http://research.wayne.edu/seminars-training/docs/worklifequiz.pdf

http://wellmd.stanford.edu/documents/work-lifeBalanceQuiz.pdf

Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdpIKXLLYYM

Dear Ljubomir and colleagues

My apologies. I did attach the article. It seems, there was some goof up on my part. Good you reminded me about it. I am attaching the article again. Hope it goes this time

Cheers and best regards

I do think that someone should establish some balance, based on choices!

http://www.pinterest.com/explore/work-life-balance/?p=2

Dear Kamal,

it´s worthwhile what you did. Thanks to your family.

Dear Kamal, you commented in poetic way about work. Btw. I can't even imagine how it is to be Rector Magnificus ? Do you sleep, in general ? Excuse me for such question.

Dear Kamal, thank you for an answer.

Dear Kamal

I think that is one of the occupational hazard being a medical doctor. You are doing great and hope the family understands.

In old days I could say " live to work".

Nowadays, I say "I work to live"!

Dear Mahmoud, what has caused this shift in your case? How old are the old days. Interestingly, in my case it is the reverse!

Dear Kamal, I would wish that you should have more sleep in the interest of the society because you are into one of the holiest profession of saving lives. Of course, that would mean that we would have less of your time on RG but we would always wish for your well-being.

Dear Hanno, your answer to the question shows both your love for work, as also your commitment to it. I can imagine, how happy you must be doing that and carrying that belief every moment.

Dear Imam seems to be joining (or have joined) your category. Nice We wish the best for him and his newly wedded wife.

Mahtma Gandhi said, "Work is worship." I somehow sincerely believe that no HAPPINESS is greater than that. CONGRATULATIONS and keep it up!

Dear friends

Committed academics as you all are, I am so happy to know that are enjoying life despite the imbalance in favour of work. I love what dear Hanno has said. That is jut the pinnacle of love for academics.

But since we all have family to support us in our work, and also has expectations from us I do not know, whether our over-work or being a workaholic is justified from family point of view.

My wife has often said, "You should not have married." Even though, she also teaches in university, she does not like obsessive academics. Now when children are grown up, almost settled in life, and away from home, the responsibility towards family has somewhat reduced.

But I have a premonition that almost all of us who are regularly participating in RG actively, must be more involved in work than what justifiably should be their time devoted to family duty. Forgive me if my statement does not apply to you. If it does not, CONGRATULATIONS!! One of you has rightly hinted. What balance, there is no life! I have somehow learned to live life like that, though I am well aware that it may not be fair to the family.

Nageswara’s quote of Jack Welch is so appropriate that we do not have balance in work and life, but make choices; so well said. In actuality, balance never happens. But today, so much is being researched in this area of employee engagement.

Dear Miranda, you are fortunate, not just for working till you are totally exhausted, but for having a highly supportive family for playing this role with that much dedication.

Initially, my wife did protest fairly vigorously for the supposed neglect, especially when when children were small. In fact, when I was busy writing my Ph.D research, I had kept some 70 books on our dining table in the living room for reference. She was very unhappy to see them there. Once she remarked, "I see these books as another woman in your life." Then I removed them from there, as my intention was never to hurt her.

Many people often have a stereotype about academics that academics hardly have any work, but if someone can keep a track of how dedicated academics spend their 24 hours, this impression would be smashed not just dispelled. Those who are actively into research and have pressure to publish are undoubtedly living a tougher life than the rest of us. In India, the pressure to publish is still much less, which is why we do not have many universities in the top 200 in the world, unlike China, which has the maximum number in that list from the Asian region.

The day before, one of my students who passed out just one year ago, and has got a fabulous placement in GE with a fat salary walked into my room and desired that she wants to do full-time Ph.D. on the plea that she does not enjoy the corporate life, and wants to realise the meaning of life by doing what she likes to do and not what she is directed to do. I think, this is one of the best things that we academics are gifted with. We have perhaps the least bossism, and the maximum autonomy to decide what we should do in our life, and how we conduct ourselves in our role. So most of us have self-imposed imbalance in life. That is why the question uses the word ‘role’ and not ‘job.’

Thanks so much for some of the most wonderful answers to the question. It is indeed refreshing to read all these.

Hope you all continue to get support from your respective spouses/best friends and other family members, despite your commitment to work, and continue to make choices that you like the most.

Dear @Debi. I think the concept of work-life balance has changed from 1970s. Maybe the advancement of technology (mobile handset, email, ...) has caused it to some extend. We no longer have enough privacy or have a control of what we can control! Imagine you are at rest in the middle of night and your mobile ring. This is typical problem. Stress is always near.

Dear Debi, I think you should write a memoir. I like to read your narratives. I would like to express respect to your wife. I suppose, I understand perfectly, what she meant about the table (overloaded with books) what in fact is the core of home space and soul.

Dear Beata

Thanks. You are such a kind soul. I feel honored to read this suggestion of yours. I am too small a man to write some kind of memoirs or autobiography.

I wish to share with you that Kamlesh, my wife, many serious health problems. She has been on steroids since 2001. Now, she could not take burden of teaching any more, and has taken a pre-mature retirement from 1st April, 2014 from Delhi University. With her multiple problems, she is on 24-hours oxygen for the last 4 months, as we have installed an oxygen concentrator at home. Though, she is able to move around, and is still trying to live her life as normally as possible.

I will convey your sympathy to her.

Dear Debi, I'm with all my heart with your wife Kamlesh.

Dear Debi!

One way we can help her is through prayer.

On behalf of RG community please tell she that we wish her good health and get better very soon.

God bless you and your family.

Regards,

Mahmoud

Work definitely blurs into personal life, but often this is of my own doing rather than the demands of my employers. I think when you are a professional and are interested in so many different things (e.g. education, research, clinical, publishing, etc), there just never seems to be enough time to do all that you want to do and so you make time to do the personally interesting stuff in your own time / at home.

But beware! You really need to be careful so that 1) you don't alienate your family; 2) you don't wake up one day and realise you haven't seen your best friends in months; or 3) you've made yourself ill. It's so easy to do, and it can sneak up on you. We should all be careful to practice what we preach and ensure a good work / life balance!!

Iain

Dear Debi, I found interesting statistics. This one below, shows what in fact scientsts (professors) do while working during weekday. The study was undertaken by anthropologist John Ziker. He with the group, recruited a sample of 16 professors and scheduled interviews with them every other day for 14 days. In each interview, they reported how they spent their time the previous day. In total, he collected data for 166 days. Very interesting data. More findings and conclusions: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/tag/work/

Perhaps, life would be much simpler without so many professional urgent e-mails to respond ? I also experience this. Since this morning (3 May - National Holiday in Poland) I replied already 5 student's e-mails. Now is 8:58AM. I'm not the only one.

Dear Debi and Kamal, I would like to add, I'm aware that there are also sex and cultural differences as factors. I'm probably (as scientists women who do not have houskeepers) more time involved on home and family duties, than shown on statistics, based on the research above. Perhaps John Ziker researched men professors only ?

Dear Beata

Thanks so much for the data for sharing the data. Much appreciated.

This is price of autonomy and freedom that academics have to pay by working on the weekends. But the difference is that an academic does the work on weekends on her/his own volition; it is not the pressure of performance created by the boss.

It is believed that in institutes of excellence there is peer pressure for performance; though in my country, we do not have that many institutes in this category. That is why, India is way behind other developing countries in research. The breed of dedicated academics is also declining, as the younger generation truly wants to enjoy life, and people say that they are not as serious in work as the profession demands.

@Beata, I could not suppose that about 17% is speent for MEETINGS!

I work a lot and it is difficult to distinguish work from my personal life, because I'm always thinking about work. I saw several friends staying behind because of this my stance, but at the same time I won several other new friends with similar positions and with similar interests. I believe that life has its own dynamic and that is always important to maintain a healthy balance. If we work hard and if it is good for us, will never be excessive.

However, I see too many people working and living only for this, developing health problems if they do not meet their goals. This should be avoided!

Role is like a costume worn in a particular "space"... the contributing members are almost confirmed and known to the "surrounding". Any transaction happening between the members and their surroundings which when affected based on a "situation" and timed wrongly may affect the role-holder otherwise it is well assumed/ understood/ accepted by them that the said activity is their role that needs to carried out by them...."Role alignment" does not disturb the Work-life balance it provides allowance for all those hurdles; but "Role-attenuation" affects Work-life balance, as the role-holder is personally disturbed.