Reading 03 — Work Life Balance
“Having it all” is a very complicated statement. Simply put, I think it means going to bed at the end of the night and being happy every night. I know that is vague, but I don’t think you can make a blanket statement that applies to everyone on this matter. When we briefly discussed the work life balance in class last week, I mentioned that I think most people’s choices change throughout the course, and that will inevitably drive what their correct “balance” is. For example, as a young developer living on my own, I believe that I will enjoy diving into the world of programming and learning as much as I can. I know that there is a lot to learn and I am excited to find out more about my professional field. However, I also know that I have other interests outside of developing that I would be unhappy neglecting. I like to go out with my friends, play sports, and who knows, I may find other hobbies as I begin life on my own. The time I spend on each of these activities will fluctuate greatly, and I realize that I don’t need to bury myself in a computer to be great at my job. Some people will be thoroughly happy doing that, and that’s fine, it’s just not for me. As we get older and have families, our free time will be consumed by taking care of them. My dad is a great example of this. When he was young and married with no kids, he worked all day and went to school at night. He essentially had no free time. Once he had kids, he worked most of the day and came home to play catch with my brother and myself among other things. I feel that he had a good balance of work and personal life. I hope to achieve a similar balance in my professional life.
When I start work in August, I’m happy to say that I will be working for a company that stresses the importance of non-work activities. I was told I would rarely have to work more than 45 hours a week, which gives me plenty of time to explore my other interests. I’m very glad to have this opportunity, and I know that it will be a factor when I consider any other jobs in the future.
This topic is very important to me. In Sarah Green Carmichael’s article, she mentions that research has shown if you overwork yourself, you can “get lost in the weeds.” I think I may have caught a glimpse of this during school. Sometimes when I have had numerous programming assignments, I found myself not wanting to program because I enjoy it, but because I have to. I don’t want my job to turn into this. I also think that if this became the case, I would be less likely to enjoy other activities because I’m so tired from “having to program” at work. I am going to make sure that when I start work I won’t let this happen so I can enjoy other aspects of my young life.
