As we are all slowly settling into a new world and adapting to the ‘new normal’, we have all noticed significant changes to our lifestyle and habits that have been formed during this crisis. Juggling between our responsibilities of home, work, community and self, has always been a complicated matter to stabilise. In the midst of this outbreak, incorporating these four areas in our lives in a fulfilling manner has been a bit of a task. 

We have all been talking about work-life balance and almost of the articles we read about remote-working talks about work-life balance. During this quarantine we have been trying to keep the little ones from screaming and making special appearances during work zoom meeting calls or trying to work out at home without the dog pestering us to go for a walk. We have found it to be almost impossible to completely separate our work and home life and for them to function independently from each other. This is where the idea of work-life integration gains its popularity. 

The concept of work-life integration is to unify your duties towards your personal life along with those of your work life. This helps your personal and work life to complement each other instead of competing with each other, as it would if they were to be separated.  As the word ‘Integrate’ is defined as, to blend into a functioning unified whole, hence integrating our work-life is about honing the synergy between them instead of a trade-off in either. 

When we talk about work life balance the picture that is usually formed in our mind, is our work and personal life on either sides of the weighing scale. Instead we should try and shift this view towards the image of a Yin-Yang symbol. While the notable Yin-Yang symbol exhibits the idea of balance with the Yin and Yang , it also demonstrates a portion of the opposite element coming through the other section. The Yin-Yang imparts a message of the whole being a greater force than its individual parts. Apply this concept towards your work-life culture and you would manifest better results as a whole. 

Psychologists Jeffery Greenhaus and Saroj Parasuraman describe the term integration as “when attitudes in one role positively spill over into another role, or when experiences in one role serve as resources that enrich another role in one’s life”. Integration with your work and personal life can bring about positive differences. Children would better appreciate the roles of parents when they see them working hard at home and especially when they engage with them on matters of their work. Spouses can further develop their understanding, cooperation and support for their partners during these uncertain times. Let us find the opportunities to better ourselves as human beings in our work and personal life during this crisis 

To understand how to integrate with your work and personal life, stay tuned for an upcoming Blog Post, you would not want to miss it!