Onika L. Dainty

Work-life balance is the balance between the time spent working and the time spent on personal activities. It's important for maintaining productivity, mental and physical health and social connection.

It involves prioritizing and managing responsibilities in both your personal and professional life.

It’s about avoiding burnout and feeling overwhelmed.

How to Achieve It:

• Set boundaries between work and personal time.

• Take regular breaks

• Schedule time for personal interests 

• Delegate tasks when possible

• Say no to extra work

• Take vacations

• Practice relaxation techniques like meditation, mindfulness and yoga

The Myth of Work-Life Balance

When I look at the above definition of work-life balance I can’t help but to reflect on the concept. This  term is often used in industries to show support for their employees having both a professional and personal life. Employers encourage their employees to set work aside after the designated “quitting-time” and pour their focus into friends, family, fun and relaxation. Employers show concern about things like burnout and employee turnover and will go so far as to create opportunities for forced social interactions to promote work-life balance in the workplace setting itself–it's all very confusing. It has been my experience after years of working in various industries and trying to balance the management of my Bipolar disorder, a large aspect of my life, work-life balance doesn’t really exist for me and burnout is inevitable. 

When I was “green” in my mental illness I prioritized work over my mental health. I did not have the knowledge and understanding that even when I was experiencing periods of wellness I was not like other people who could burn the candle at both ends. Although I would usually start a work experience strong, I would interview well, I would achieve success the first few weeks or months but the reality of my mental illness would eventually rear its head whether it would come in the form of having to take time off for a depressive episode, feeling overwhelmed by my work load and fearing management would find out about my illness or lacking sleep because anxieties surrounding constant fear of failure and subsequent termination, I never felt a sense of balance at work because of the imbalance due to the presence of mental illness in my life. 

As I got older and more confident in my mental health I took on low-stress positions in industries like food services and retail. I was open about my mental health circumstances and I felt accepted by my co-workers. The problem was however, that I was not stimulated by these positions. Tasks were too easy, staff was too friendly and management behaved as though employees were dispensable.  I took more time off in these industries than any other, allowed myself to wallow in my mental illness rather than practice self-care, medication management or create the structure, routine and habit I needed to get back to work. Again, my life outside of work, my inability to balance my Bipolar disorder conflicted with the work-life balance model practiced in low-stress industries that seemed ideal for someone with a high-stress mental illness.

Work-Life Balance and The Dream

A few years ago I thought I found my dream position as a Peer Support Specialist. Among other requirements, I had to have lived experience with mental illness and the mental healthcare system. This was right up my ally: my employer and co-workers would have first-hand knowledge of mental illnesses such as Bipolar disorder, I would spend my work hours educating clients about experiences that would give them insight and hope on their journey to recovery and wellness and I could spend my personal time without shame or guilt managing my own mental health. My career as a Peer Supporter began well, I thrived and flourished in the role gaining knowledge and understanding of the mental health services sector as well as further understanding of my own illness. Then in March 2020 the pandemic hit and after a brief period of redeployment my department was shut down and I was fired. I was devastated and lost but in the midst of this tragedy I secured another position as a Peer Supporter.

What I did not realize then that I know now was after the trauma of the first position, the pandemic and a relocation I started my new position burnt out and terrified. I was “green Onika” again, putting work before my mental health and my personal life. I forgot that mismanagement of my basic needs like rest, regular psychiatrist appointments, medication management, self-care and setting healthy boundaries at work and home were key pillars in maintaining my mental health and keeping Mania at bay. I took on too much due to a need to impress my superiors and secure a permanent position within the organization. Sleepless nights lead to racing thoughts of daily recrimination and eventual termination. When I should say ‘no’ I found myself saying ‘yes’ overwhelming my exhausted and fragile mind with more than was realistic. I lost my sense of self and purpose. When I finally took a break in the form of vacation I slept so much that upon my return to work I needed to take additional time off due cognitive and emotional dysfunction, extreme exhaustion and dissociation. In an attempt to find my balance I fell hard and fast and I’m still recovering.

Final Thought

Based on my experiences I have come to the following conclusion about how work-life balance plays a role in my Bipolar disorder management: I believe when you dedicate your life to balancing your Bipolar disorder it is not sustainable to maintain a work-life balance that suits standard employment, rather I believe it's possible to practice work-life balance if you find your passion (work) and prioritize your life (mental health) only then does balance come. 

 I consulted several of my working support team members to get their perspective and they say the following regarding work-life balance:

-“Not sure if there is an ideal ratio to achieve balance between work and life or if they are separate or one and the same. But work and life joy need boundaries, it starts with being comfortable with and even appreciating the word “NO” as an acceptable answer to the pressures that come at us. And  by carefully selecting when to use the word “Yes”. Work is part of life, and so is rest. Work is better after rest. And rest always feels good after work. Find the right ratio and repeat the cycle.”- My Support Team Member on Work-Life Balance

-“Work life balance does not exist in the exact sense. I think of it more like homeostasis in the body. It's possible to keep things in a nice range and we can get better (or worse) and identify when we need to tweak things to ebb one way or the other. When we don’t do a great job of that we can set new normals which make our alert systems only go off when things are crazy out of whack. That’s when it takes more concerted efforts and changes to bring things back into range.That said, societally we have established a balance range that is probably pretty out of whack so we have to figure out our own limits to an extent.”-My Support Team Member on Work-Life Balance

-”No. You can’t balance your life and work in today’s economy. The economy forces you to work more so you can have a better quality of life but you have no time to enjoy life. The current state of the economy forces you to work excessively, sometimes in multiple positions just to make ends meet, placing your personal life last place on your priority list which by definition is an imbalance.”-My Support Team Member on Work-Life Balance 

The women quoted in the above statements are employed in various industries and have varying levels of experience with mental health. It is clear however, regardless of the state of your mental health, navigating work-life balance is challenging on the best of days. Work-life balance is not an impossible concept for some and can be achieved in the right circumstances but it is up to the individual to foster these conditions. Ask yourself: “What is my number one priority with work? What are the most important priorities in my life? Can these priorities co-exist or do they clash? For myself, my priority is maintaining stability in my mental health and managing the symptoms of my mental illness and that is a full time job that does not allow for me to prioritize someone else's bottom line. I have decided to focus on projects that I’m passionate about and that can be easily set aside if I experience another mental health crisis. I have let go of the fear of disappointing employers or the worries around not meeting deadlines. In the world of work-life balance I choose life, I choose self-care, I choose finding my version of balance, I choose my mental health and wellness and I choose me.