What does work-life balance mean to me?
Freelancing allows me to enjoy the freedom that it promises. There's an empty wall in the new apartment since my move to Bonn, for which I wanted to capture a memory from our last adventure vacation. Last week I spent some time and finally realized the painting for that wall. I'm not gonna lie when I say it's the biggest canvas I've ever painted!
Plus, now I can out of cool coworkings nearby. I choose the location and time slot for working. Just a year ago, I thought I was going to spend my whole life in rigid structures of 40 hours a week and book time in 15-minute slots.
Now, as a freelance designer, I arrange working days and my work-life balance how I want, according to my personal resources and my needs. For example, experience shows that even as a freelancer I need my classic day rhythm, which I'm honestly very happy about. Because my creativity produces pretty much chaos I have to tame. In the morning, I devote myself to the annoying tasks to quickly put them off the table. In the afternoon, I'm usually in flow. In between, I manage brief email communication and social networking.
Studies show that when employees prioritize work-life balance:
companies appear much more attractive for talents
employees work more productively, more concentrated and more successfully
the team feels more connected to the company
family members are more concentrated and can better control their work due to stress reduction through flexible working hours
employees are mentally and physically healthier
...
In my opinion, a too strictly scheduled and structured daily routine is not generally natural for a human being - unfortunately, in our western cultures this is considered a sign of high productivity and success.
It is important that the priority for work-life balance arrives in the corporate cultures - that leaderships of corporations also decide to respond to employees' needs and preferences. Because we experience massive digitalization, and people are not machines. We no longer just offer our services, but the whole thing: our personality, our commitment and also our emotions.
Workspaces can communicate these values. A good workspace design can make employees feel human and real and get heard, that their needs, work and participation is appreciated an highly valued. Besides, your Purpose also flows into the spaces: your big WHY. This is how I imagine workspaces of the future