Is Work/Life Satisfaction a Pipe Dream for Food & Beverage Professionals?
No way!
Everyone needs to keep a roof over their head and food on their table, but being a slave to work ultimately diminishes your performance (and jeopardizes your job security).
So if you frequently feel like:
- work takes priority over your physical and mental well-being;
- you have to choose between being a good family member and being a good employee;
- you don’t have enough time and energy outside work to pursue or attend to things that are truly important to you…
…you may need to work on your balancing act.
Actively pursuing work/life satisfaction is good for you personally and professionally, increasing your resilience, fulfillment, focus and performance. Here’s how to find a balance that’s good for you – and your food & beverage career:
Define your priorities.
What’s most important to you? Advancing your career? Caring for an ailing family member? Retiring before age 55? Starting a family? The first step in achieving satisfaction is understanding what it means to you. Do some soul-searching to determine your goals, responsibilities, needs and wants. Use these as focal points for defining what “balance” means to you.
Don’t strive for perfection.
The “perfect” work/life balance doesn’t exist, because the demands of your home and work life are continually evolving. Rather than striving for the perfect schedule; strive for a realistic one. True work/life satisfaction is measured over the long-term. The key to finding balance is remaining flexible enough to respond to changes in your daily schedule, while maintaining overall alignment with your long-term priorities.
Set limits and boundaries.
Yes, senior management may place pressure on you to make yourself available outside of business hours, and coworkers may try to heap more work on your plate. But while these realities may be unavoidable, knowing how to effectively set boundaries can help you maintain your sanity.
Learn how and when to selectively say “no.” Set and communicate limits on how and when you’re available outside of work (and make sure you follow your own policy!). Try to minimize distractions at both work and home, so you can be fully present while you’re there. When you establish and adhere to boundaries, it helps prevent the all-too-common feelings of guilt and overwhelm that sabotage satisfaction.
Make sure you like your job.
We all occasionally have days at work that are long, stressful or just plain rough. But if you are truly unhappy with your employer, your supervisor, your corporate culture or your responsibilities, do something about it.
Kinsa Group can help! As a leading food industry executive recruiter, we can confidentially search for opportunities that offer the challenge, responsibilities, compensation and work/life satisfaction you need. Check out our current job openings here: