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Migration: searching for work-life balance

By: Rosa M. Canto

Living in a big city as Mexico City, can be translated in lack of optimized transportation, spending more than three hours in traffic and impossibility to study any additional curse after work.

Based on multiple conversations and according with the cited article, I can affirm that many people have experienced concerns about being successful at work while being a role model as “father”, “mother” or “student” while trying to survive day to day obstacles related to our city. (Dyer, 2018).

I found myself asking: how can I even talk about work-life balance living in 22 million populated city? Where we are so busy that do not have time for more than go home and go to work and vice versa. The response for me was one: migrate to Canada.

I arrived in Canada in December 2018 and I can affirm that my life has changed significantly. Here, citizens have better transportation, part-time jobs for students, overtime pay and regulations related to it, a well planned urbanization, availability of services, laws applicable to working environments. Also it is fair to say that the cost of living in Canada is considerable higher than it is in Mexico.

Geographer Online. (2015, October 21). Migration – why do people migrate? . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54xM8VlgP7s

Based on the list above, Canada has emerged as an alternative for young professionals to start a project of life, without the weight of cultural tradition, which sacrifices well- being over remuneration and a long career in the same company.

This major change of life has allowed me to study while working in a part-time job, to plan my day to day schedule, to establish priorities, to live near college and job. I finally have some time for relaxation and for self-care.

Work-life balance is a term that Canadians have heard, and I am tended to think most of them are looking to improve it. In Latin American countries the concept of work- life balance is still unknown, specially in Mexico, it is not in the list of priorities.

Dyer, S., Xu, Y., & Sinha, P. (2018). Migration: A means to create work-life balance?. Retrieved from: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2033212007?accountid=3455

Nile Migration. (2018). Is Life in Canada Much Better than India? Retrieved from https://blog.nilemigration.com/life-canada-much-better-india/

Do you want to know more about work-life balance in Canada and other countries? Visit our recommended sites:

https://cmha.ca/mental-health/finding-help/emotional-wellness

http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/work-life-balance/

https://www.statista.com/chart/12997/countries-with-the-worst-work-life-balance/

Do you live to work or work to live?

Be Leaderly. (2019). Retrieved from: https://beleaderly.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Why-You-Should-Stop-Working-Long-Hours-FB.png

I know of a lot of people who are absorbed by work little by little, until there is an extreme point where they seem to live exclusively to work instead of working to live. Here in Canada there are many people who are addicted to work. According to Statistics Canada, “almost one-third of employed Canadians aged 19 to 64 (31%) identify themselves as workaholics” (Statistics Canada, n.d).

Work hard is seen by many as the path to success. However, this would lead to missing out on happy moments with my family such as not having the pleasure of seeing my child grow or having leisure time with him. It seems that the family and the social life of the person ends up being dismissed resulting in personal, health or psychological problems.

Living to Work vs. Working to Live – Where Do You Stand?

Ea, Prince. (2015, March 16). Working to live or living to work. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNRldP18bH8

In my opinion, the excess of work does not bring anything good, except some extra money at the weekend. In any case, this would not be enough incentive to sacrifice physical, emotional health and time to enjoy with my family and friends.

In order to prevent work becoming an endless activity, consuming the best moments of my life with my family. I use the strategy of saving more and working less. Most of the time the more you earn the more you spend, that’s why the money never reaches. I have found that the habit of continued and consistent savings has brought me good results economically.

Do we work to live or live to work? (2019, Mar 09). The Week, 16. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/docview/2201617532?accountid=3455

Interested in knowing more about work/life balance? I suggest you to visit the following sites:

I invite you to answer the following questions and comment the reason of your respond:

Do you check you work email while you are on vacation?

YES – NO. WHY?

Do you prefer to be rewarded by earning more money than having more vacation days?

YES – NO. WHY?

Do you leave after your boss or co-worker do?

YES – NO. WHY?

Do you feel guilty when you are not working on something?

YES – NO. WHY?

Does Canada have a cultural work/life imbalance?

When I compare previous years with the recent ones I have noticed that the balance tends to lean toward the professional side, until reaching the point of taking the time that was assigned for the family. When I started working in Canada, one of the things that I had to adapt was the Canadian corporate culture. Beside compared the work culture of my country with the Canadian one. In some countries, ordinary working hours for many people extend to the night shift. Due to overwork, dedicated family time suffers greatly.

Jagranjosh. (2018). Retrieved from: https://www.jagranjosh.com/imported/images/E/Articles/Tips-to-maintain-Work-life-Balance-in-Modern-Corporate-Work-Format-Body-Image.jpg

Sometimes it is the company that demands a high degree of commitment, especially to people who have a high position in the company. The demands of family and work means that for some staying later at work isn’t an option, so people take time that was for stipulated with the family, be able to meet the company. Other reasons could be the fear of becoming unemployed, or the desire to fulfill personal goals as promotion within the organization.

Apex. (2015, January 06). Work/life balance – short story. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDOtfo3sjD0

In Canada, there are three work shifts, which most of the time are stipulated by companies or in some occasions we must chooses the schedule that best suits us. As a mother, I have to find a work schedule in which it is convenient to achieve a balance between the role of mother and work responsibilities. Some people have multiples jobs or work extra hours in order to financially support themselves and their family. For these people it is impossible to have a work / life balance. On the other hand, there are people who think that working hours in Canada is highly desirable to obtain a balance between work / life, which make the most of it with their family or social life.

Why we have to stop being available 24/7 — and how to do it. (2018, Jul 26). Chatelaine (Online), Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/docview/2078473437?accountid=3455

Generation Y – “Millennials” have something to say about work-life balance

By: Rosa M. Canto

LinkedIn SlideShare. (2016). Millennials Working Within Your Organization Part 4: The Future of Millennial Workforce. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/PassagewaysLLC/millennials-working-within-your-organization-part-4-the-future-of-millennial-workforce

Generation Y or better known as “Millennials” are us, women and men born between 1980´s and 2000, much things are being said about us and how this generation had changed several aspects in life including standards and expectations in working conditions, as is described in the cited article (Skorska, 2019)

We are now part of the working force and one of the younger groups followed by Generation Z. I have read different data and opinions from my friends and colleagues in similar age as me. The first thing I found interesting is that work-life balance is one of our principles of life, we appreciate work and remuneration but even more we value time and quality of life.

We find motivation in jobs that allow us to explore different fields and skills and we look for work flexibility (home office, flexible schedules) and dynamic environments (Skorska, 2019).

My personal experience as a young professional born in 1987, I have had different stages. I started my working life in 2009, at 22 years old; I have worked for 3 different companies, I enjoyed my job and I was committed to perform it well but eventually I realized that it started demanded time from my personal life. I had no time to take care of my health or hobbies neither to share weekends with my family, friends and pets.

Sociable Blog. (2017). Generational Marketing: How Marketers Can Reach Different Target Audiences? (infographic). Retrieved from http://www.sociableblog.com/2017/07/06/generational-marketing-reach-different-target-audiences/

Talking about contrasts and how other generations perceive work-life balance, when I talked to my parents about the matter, I received a completely different point of view because they belong to generation X and Baby boomers and they did not grow with the concept of work-life balance. For those generations “job is first” and personal time has not the same weight as has for recent generations. Fortunately, they are now interested in adopting some good practices from Millennials such as enjoying some leisure time, leaving job tasks at the office and cultivating new hobbies. I am proud and glad about that.

Skorska, A. (2019). Is Work Life Balance Important For Generation Y?. Varazdin: Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency (VADEA). Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/docview/2199752639?accountid=3455

B/60. (2018, July 31). Millennials are Quitting Lucrative Jobs in Favor of Travel and Better Work-Life Balance . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlWTewCeFWU

Do you want to know more about work-life balance and generations? Visit our recommended sites:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/03/27/the-evolving-definition-of-work-life-balance/#79a334f59ed3

https://www.forbes.com/sites/heidilynnekurter/2018/11/15/5-ways-millennials-are-shaking-up-the-workforce-from-the-bottom-up/#1f9dfdff2415

https://www.wework.com/ideas/creating-work-life-balance-millennial-employees

It is possible to have a balance between study, work and personal life?

Currently, one of the most common challenges for workers is search for a balance between work and personal life. Today, factors such as economic situation, financial stability, a better position and labor market competition, force people to seek further education. For these reasons, many people have to find a balance between studying, working and personal life; which is very challenging to do but not impossible.

Conversational, (2016). Retrieved from: https://www.conversational.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/worklifebalance.jpg

Based on my experience, after 15 years I decided to return to study at the college, first of all I did it because I wanted to develop professionally, second to be able to give my son a better future and third to have a better job. Before I start the college, I was working full time, which I had to resign since I wanted to focus more on my studies. Not having family support, play an important role when it comes to having a balance between study, work and life. In my case, I do not have family here in Canada. Consequently, it is was very challenging to have a balance between those three variables.

As Rutherford says, “where” is an important factor in maintaining a good work / life balance, not only where the place where you are going to study is located, but also where you work is and where you live (in term of commute time) (Rutherford,2019).

Accountants, C. I. (2015, March 11). Maintain a work/life balance while studying. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyG1myXN6HM

Now, I must balance between studying and my obligations at home. This has been difficult for me, but I have learned efficiently distribute the time between them. These are some of the guidelines that have helped me to maintain a balance between study and life: exercise good time management skill, keep in mind deadlines of assignments and test, find the best way to memorize and understand the information and do not leave the projects for the last hour.

Rutherford, E. (2019, 01). PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WHILE MAINTAINING A GOOD WORK/LIFE BALANCE. Contract Management, 59, 12-14. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-om.library.sheridanc.on.ca/docview/2173405962?accountid=3455

Interested in knowing more about work/life balance? I suggest you visit the following sites:

What is work-life balance, and how can we start working to get it?

By: Rosa M. Canto

I knew about work-life balance concept some years ago when I realized I spent more than 8 hours at work and I used to work some weekends to finish projects on time. During my 10 years of previous work experience, I realized that living in Mexico City can make you feel overwhelmed due to schedules and responsibilities; we want to be outstanding students, employees or business persons and at the same time we need to fulfill many other personal and home responsibilities, we need time for hobbies, to share time with family and friends. This seems to be easy to learn but based on my own experience, it demands time management, organization and setting priorities.

Me and many other young professionals identify with the following statements : “I delivered my project on time”, “my boss congratulated me for the result and the hard extra work on weekends”, but once time passed we could experience: “I am not assisting to family meetings”, “I am not enjoying time with my spouse”, “I am not exercising anymore” “I am not sleeping well”, etc. In other words, one aspect of our life is covered but the rest is unattended, and we start to feel frustrated, excessively tired or even depressed.

College Magazine. (2019). Reasons Google employees live the dream. Retrieved from https://www.collegemagazine.com/10-reasons-google-employees-live-the-dream/

The cited article helped me to have a clear understanding of the 6 pillars to get work-life balance: self management, time management, stress management, change management, technology management, leisure management (Davidson, 2017). Each of them is an important component which depends completely of “me”, if I decided to look for this equilibrium.

Work-life balance is a personal decision and must be defended. The first step is to take consciousness of how I feel and start by defining my daily agenda, actions and goals. This is to establish a specific hour for “me” to do what make me feel satisfied as person and take into consideration the cited 6 pillars and enjoy the time at college, at work and with my family.

Davidson, J. (2017, 12). What is work-life balance? Personal Excellence Essentials, Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/docview/2043580827?accountid=3455

Nor Bibaizura. (2017, March 17)..Work life balance presentation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WENRATrKn9c

Accolo Business Services. (2018). 4 ways to ruin your work/life balance. Retrieved from https://www.accolo.com/blog/4-ways-to-ruin-your-worklife-balance/

Do you want to know more about work-life balance? Visit our recommended sites: