Just How Healthy is Your Work Lifestyle?*

Money money money, it makes the world go around, right? In this day and age it’s so hard to find a job that you really enjoy and causes little stress but earns you enough money to support yourself or even a family. Tragic right? I’ve been self employed for the last year and a bit, working from home so I’m able to be a mother to my daughter first but I know that is probably close to coming to an end as she starts school in September. It’s been wonderful but the money is sporadic and as a single parent, it would be irresponsible not to go out and find a job. Am I ready to tackle that? Mentally, no. But I know it’ll be for the best.

For a single parent with set hours of availability a job in an office would be best for me as both retail and hospitality require flexible hours and I know these won’t work for me. Office jobs are long hours, sat in the same place and often come with a lot of stress of deadlines. This isn’t something I’ve ever had to deal with since I was at university as I’ve always worked the jobs where I could be flexible. I’ve been a receptionist, a manager, a waitress, a bar maid and even a sales assistant. I don’t claim for a second that my current lifestyle is very healthy, I do spend a lot of time at a computer, indoors and on my butt, but at least I control when I eat, when I go out and exercise, how will taking a job in an office really affect my health, and in the long run, my life expectancy?

On that note, Calibre Office Furniture have put together a fun quiz to assess your life expectancy based on your work habits. I say fun because it’s well put together and the multiple choice answers are funny, but of course it could be a shocker.. even based on my answers from working from home I apparently only have 49 more years to go! Best crack on with that kale salad then!

If like me you got that you could be a little stressed, here are a few tips to help you get a healthier work/life balance;

• When you leave the office, don’t take your work home with you.
  Don’t obsessively check your emails. Switch off. Go home, have a glass of wine, a hot bath and do anything but work. You need that break to keep your sanity let alone anything else.

• Don’t make yourself available 24/7
  If your boss thinks you’re happy to be available around the clock, they will use your around the clock. If you don’t set boundaries you will find yourself working all the time. Make it clear that when you leave the office you’re on your own time not the companies.

• Take your breaks, take your holidays.
  You are entitled to your holidays and your breaks, in fact it’s a legal requirement so make the most of them. Even in hospitality I was dreadful for not taking what I was allowed, I’ve definitely learnt my lesson there.

You only live once at the end of the day, although holding down a job is an essential part of life, don’t make it the only thing you’re living for. Get that life work balance in check and enjoy your hard earned money!

The quiz was created by Calibre.