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Work/Life Balance and You:
Taking the Oxymoron OUT of Social Work!
Aaron M. Swart, BS, MSW
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VIDEO
• Can any of you identify with Adam
Sandler?
• How about Adam’s partner in the movie?
His kids?
• Does YOUR life feel out of control?
• Wish you could “CLICK” the remote and
make some changes?
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Goals For Our Time Together…
• Understand that our own work/life
balance or lack thereof affects
everything we do and impacts everyone
we relate to
• Utilize what we already know to help
ourselves achieve more balance in our
lives
• Reconnect with what’s important to each
of us by initiating our own work/life plan
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Work/Life Balance: What IS that?
(Wikipedia):
Work-life balance is a broad concept including
proper prioritizing between career and ambition
on one hand, compared with pleasure, leisure,
family and spiritual development on the other.
Can this be achieved?
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Survey Says…
According to a national public opinion poll
conducted by the American Psychological
Association, two-thirds of both men and women
say work has a significant impact on their stress
level, and one in four has called in sick or taken
a “mental health day” as a result of work stress.
Also a significant concern for employers, job
stress is estimated to cost U.S. industry $300
billion a year in absenteeism, diminished
productivity, employee turnover and direct
medical, legal and insurance fees.
Source: http://www.phwa.org/resources/creatingahealthyworkplace/
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Work or Life…that is the question!
•
HOW DO WE CHOOSE WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT?
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Where Are You Right Now?
© 2002 Worklifebalance.com, Inc. Source: http://www.worklifebalance.com/assets/pdfs/casestudy.pdf
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Gut Check…
• Health/physical-emotional-mental-spiritual fitness-
what’s important to you?
• Time Management Preferences?
• What’s the Big Picture?
Adapted from: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1806/How-to-Create-Your-Personal-Work-Life-Balance-Plan.html
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How Does Your Day Begin?
• What are the messages we tell
our clients each day?
• What are the messages we tell
ourselves each day?
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Things We Ask Our Clients…
• What do YOU want?
• What are your strengths?
• What resources do you have currently?
• What are your challenges?
• How can I help you reach your goal?
• How realistic do you think this is…?
• What is your reasoning behind (you name it)…?
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Things We May Tell Ourselves…
My Clients Need ME!
No One Else Will Do It Like I Can!
My Dreams Can Wait…
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Paradigm Shift…
• What if we took time to do for ourselves what
we may already be doing for our clients?
• What would that look like for each of us?
Guilt? Natural?
~What we’re used to we re-create…
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Be Intentional…Self-Advocate!
• A willingness to do something differently
• Counting the costs of NOT creating a plan
• Accountability
• Endurance!
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Seen these before?
• What is MY Long-Range Outcome? (Ensure that this is an outcome desired by the individual, and not a goal belonging to others.)
• Where am I now in relation to MY outcomes?
• What is/are my Short Range Goal(s)?
• What Supports/Interventions will help me
to reach my goals?
• What is working best in my life right now?
• What is NOT working in my life right now?
• My Health/Behavioral Concerns?
• My Barriers to Success?
Questions adapted from: http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/MHDDSAS/pcp.htm
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The PCP: A Work/Life Tool!
1). Use Slides 14, 16, and 17 to guide you as you
create your plan (I’ll go over these):
a. Answer three questions for yourself on slide #12.
YOU pick!
b. Peruse items from slide # 13 as you go, and
c. Incorporate ideas from slide #14 that fit you the best!)
Questions adapted from: http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/MHDDSAS/pcp.htm
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Tips While Creating Your Plan…
• Give yourself time to brainstorm;
write down your goals
• Keep your goals highly visible
(at work and home)
• Let others know you are serious;
recruit positive influences
• Make sure that you give yourself
and others time to adjust to goals
• Allow the process to unfold;
keep short accounts of progress
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Be Proactive vs. Reactive!
• Go for a walk.
• Spend time in nature.
• Call a good friend.
• Sweat out tension
with a good workout.
• Write in your journal.
• Take a long bath.
• Listen to music.
• Watch a comedy.
Adapted from: http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm
• Light scented candles
• Savor a warm cup of
coffee or tea.
• Play with a pet.
• Work in your garden.
• Get a massage.
• Curl up with a good book.
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Deliberate Self-Care Strives To…
• Seek balance.
• Combine detachment with doing our part.
• Balance giving with receiving.
• Alternate work with play, business with
personal activities.
• Balance tending to our spiritual needs
with tending to our other needs.
• Juggle responsibilities to others with
responsibilities to ourselves.
• Balance caring about others with caring
about ourselves.
“Whenever possible, let's be good to others,
but be good to ourselves, too.” -Melody Beattie
• Source: Beattie, M. (1990). The language of letting go. New York: Harper Collins, p. 84.
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Work/Life Web Resources
• http://www.helpguide.orgThis site is a comprehensive, non-profit balance site dealing
with myriad topics such as mental health, relationships, and
anger management at any age.
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/The Mayo Clinic has a section of their website dedicated to
Work/Life balance as it relates to physical health and stressors!
• http://www.livestrong.com/Inspired by Lance Armstrong, this site is full of ideas,
inspiration, and blogs to help you reach your goals