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Beauty & Health

57% Of Singaporeans Feel Guilty For Taking Breaks – Here’s Why You Shouldn’t

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Beauty & Health

57% Of Singaporeans Feel Guilty For Taking Breaks – Here’s Why You Shouldn’t

We all struggle with finding a good work life balance but with these tips, perhaps it’s easier than we all thought. Read on to find out

August 27, 2019

Are you stressed and feel guilty at the thought of “doing nothing”? You’re not alone. A recent survey of 600 Singaporeans by Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) found that 57 per cent of us want to take a break from the daily grind, but feel guilty when we actually do as we feel that the time could be spent on something more “productive”.

And we’re not just talking about going on holiday or taking an extended period of leave. According to the survey (which was conducted as part of Sentosa’s Make Time campaign), half of us feel trapped in a routine we can’t escape but are at the same time stressed by the thought of “doing nothing”, while 74 per cent of survey respondents wished more time could be spent with loved ones.

READ MORE:
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8 Most Therapeutic And Fun Hobbies To Reduce Stress

But why do Singaporeans feel this way?

Dr Tan Ern Ser, an associate professor at the NUS Department of Sociology, believes that this unhealthy obsession with being constantly “productive” can be due to us internalising the “high expectations that bosses, parents, teachers (and even significant others) place on us, and allowing these expectations to control us.”

“We often feel that if we take our foot off the pedal, we would be evaluated negatively, which would affect our standing in the competitive workplace,” he continues. “Taking breaks may be seen as a sign of weakness, unreliability and malingering.”

We tend to agree with him. How many of us tend to check our emails even on holiday?

READ MORE: 13 Toxic Mindsets That Are Taking A Toll On Your Mental Health

The Importance Of Detaching From Your Desk 

But if we want to have better work-life balance, then we need to start by consciously detaching our minds from work once we’re out of the office. For deskbound workers like you and me, it can be hard at first, of course.

“Being able to let go and detach oneself psychologically from stressful work routines can be rather difficult,” Dr Tan says. “However, it is important to learn to counsel yourself that letting go can prevent burnout. More positively, it can enable you to recharge and eventually tackle the difficult situation from a position of rest and strength.”

Ultimately, we need to recognise that mental wellbeing can make you a better employee, a better parent, a better friend and a better coworker.

To start, here are eight tips to help you detach from the daily grind and achieve better work-life balance:

https://www.womensweekly.com.sg/gallery/beauty-and-health/heres-get-work-life-balance-properly/
57% Of Singaporeans Feel Guilty For Taking Breaks - Here's Why You Shouldn't
Stop Checking Your Phone 
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If you’re always checking work emails in your spare time, make it a point to turn off your phone when you’re not at work. Whether it’s a family gathering, a much-needed catch-up with friends or some couple time with your man, enjoy the moment and don’t think about work at all while you’re doing this.

Not Everything Has to Be Perfect
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When it comes to work, most of us want what we do to be perfect. But being a perfectionist comes with a whole new set of problems too. Let go of the need for things to be perfect, just get things done instead. Making sure every little detail is perfect requires special attention to everything, which takes up a lot of time.

Instead of wanting to be “perfect”, you can “decide to be a ‘good enough’ parent and employee” says Dr Tan. “This involves setting reasonable goals and recognizing that there can be trade-offs.” 

Set Clear, Reasonable Goals
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“By and large, to be able to mentally detach from work when you’re off work, one needs to set reasonable and clear goals for each working day, and stay focused on completing them at work, leaving no ‘unfinished’ business to bother you once off work,” Dr Tan advises. 

“Cut complex projects down into bite-sized phases and tasks, and reward yourself upon completion of each task,” he suggests. “Practise good time management, including time for breaks.”

Disconnect Gradually
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Don’t aim big, start with small targets and build on them as time goes by. If you decide to devote more time to leisure activities, start with a small number. For example, if you work late every weeknight, make it a point to be out of the office by, say, 7pm one night a week, then build from that.

It’s much easier to accomplish and it will motivate you to spend more time away from work as you slowly get into that routine. If you start by telling yourself you’ll leave work on time every evening, it’s probably going to be hard to achieve right away so you might give up.

Learn To Delegate
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Stop acting like a martyr and thinking that you’re the only person in your office who can get things done. Learn to delegate tasks or projects and you’ll end up with more time on your hands. So stop being a control freak and let others do some jobs for you, to lighten your work load.

Follow Your Own Schedule
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Everyone’s idea of a work-life balance is different so don’t follow what others are doing; instead, make a schedule of your own. Only you know the demands of your job and the family and social commitments you have, so make that decision yourself. Find what works best for you, whether it’s the number of hours you want to spend away from work, or what you want to do in your free time.

Keep Track of Time 
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Keep track of the amount of time you spend on things throughout the day. Do this for a week or two then see what you can cut down on or completely stop doing. For example, if you spend 15 minutes in the pantry every morning catching up on gossip with colleagues, cut that out of your daily activities (or limit it to alternate days if you really want to be in the gossip loop) and you’ll find that you have more time for work, which will result in you leaving work earlier.

Respect Yourself
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If you’ve arranged some private time for yourself, or with others, respect it and don’t let anything get in the way. If you have a shopping date with your sister on Saturday and your boss asks you to go into the office, tell her that you can’t do it. Unless it’s an emergency, you should give your private time the same respect you give to making sure work meetings take place when they should.

READ MORE:
Fitness Queen Jaime Teo Shares How She Balances Work, Workouts And Motherhood
13 Ways To Organise Your Vanity Table For More Stress-Free Mornings

This Is What You Should Really Eat When You’re Stressed Out

Text: Elizabeth Liew, Atika Lim & Balvinder Sandhu/HerWorld
Photos: Pexels

  • TAGS:
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  • time
  • work
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