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38
S
peech
P
athology
A
ustralia
F
rom
the
P
resident
W
ork–life balance, preserving your soul – what an
interesting theme, and so important to all of us. I
suspect that many of us find it difficult to achieve though. Or
does it depend on our definition of balance? Our profession
seems to attract people who have a strong sense of respon
sibility (if we’re going to do something, we like to do it right),
a constitutional inability to say no (if we’re asked to do some
thing, we’re likely to say yes), and an element of perfectionism
(if we’re going to do something, we want it to be the best
we’re capable of). I’m not suggesting that these are negative
characteristics – far from it. They help us to do the best for
our clients and for our profession. Our professional Associ
ation would not function without all those who say yes when
asked to contribute – at local, state or national level. Many of
the people who say yes to work for the association also say
yes to many other types of involvement. The saying “if you
want something done, ask a busy person” is often true.
Some of us may find that, at times, the work end of the
balance is rather heavily weighted. This can occur for various
reasons – perhaps there are increased demands in our work
place at particular times of the year, perhaps staff illness or
attrition means that we need to take on additional responsi
bilities. And sometimes we say yes more often than we
should! The potential consequences of tipping the balance too
far in the direction of work are clear – stress, illness, burnout.
Are there possible consequences of erring on the “life” side
of the balance? Perhaps that depends on personality, or the
stage we are at in our lives. You may have a personality that
is happiest at work – for you, too much “life” may not be
satisfying, or you may see little difference between work and
life. Your balance point will be different. For me, life stage
was (and is) important – but the weighting has changed over
the years. Life certainly needed to take precedence over work
when my children were young – I chose to spend more time
with them than at work. At this stage of my life, my children
are grown, and I have much more time to devote to work. I
still aim for a balance – notionally, I work only four days a
week – but I do many things within my work life, and some
volunteer work. I also aim to combine “work” and “life”
whenever possible. Attending a conference may be work, but
following it with a holiday provides the life balance! This
issue of the
ACQ
may help you to reflect on your own work–
life balance, and provide insight into how others have
achieved this.
Let me finish with a lyric from a song which is now close to
30 years old, but which comes close to my personal philosophy.
Perhaps it is your philosophy as well.
“
It’s better to burn out than it is to rust.
” – Neil Young 1979
Cori Williams