Work-Life Balance: How Stress Affects Women’s Mental Health

Women are the pillar of any society as they can take on several challenging roles and shoulder them with dedication. Working full-time jobs along with handling the household responsibilities often takes a toll on the physical and mental health of the female employees. 

In India, there’s a significant gender disparity in household activity participation. Women spend considerably more time on unpaid domestic services than men. This means work life balance for women is more difficult to achieve compared to men.

The statistics below provide keen insights into time spent on unpaid domestic services by women:

• A 2024 survey indicates that females in India spent 289 minutes daily on unpaid domestic services, while males spent 88 minutes.
• Women spend almost 5 hours on unpaid domestic work, compared to 1.4 hours for men.
• This means that over 81% of females engage in unpaid domestic services, compared to 27% of males.

Mental health counselling can help women learn skills to manage stress arising due to constant pressure from household and work places. 

What is work life balance?

Work-life balance refers to maintaining a healthy equilibrium between professional commitments and personal life. This helps to ensure that neither encroaches on the other, allowing individuals to engage in activities and relationships important to them. Overall, work life balance revolves around the following three aspects.

Setting Boundaries: You need to establish clear distinctions between work and personal time. This means setting specific work hours and avoiding taking your work home. 

Prioritizing Personal Time: Define and allocate proper time for relaxation, leisure activities, hobbies, and spending time with loved ones. 

Managing Stress: Implement strategies that help to reduce stress related to work or personal life, such as relaxation techniques or seeking professional help. 

Why is work-life balance difficult for women to achieve?

Societal expectations, professional challenges, and the disproportionate burden of childcare and household responsibilities are the primary reasons that lead to stress, burnout, and career setbacks among women. 

Here are 5 reasons that make it challenging to achieve work life balance for women

Lack of support: Women lack adequate support from supervisors, colleagues, and family members, making it harder to manage the demands of work and home. Most women returning to work after career breaks face challenges in reacclimating to the workplace and may experience feelings of disconnection and apprehension.

1. Traditional gender roles: Societal norms often place more emphasis on women’s roles as caregivers and homemakers, leading to pressure to prioritize family over career. Over the decades, movements like women’s empowerment failed to recognize the increasing burden on females. While women advocated for greater recognition in all areas, these movements failed to compensate them for household activities.

2. Double burden: Women often face the pressure to excel in both their careers and manage household tasks and childcare. Many women feel being stretched thin and overburdened by daily chores.

3. Gender bias and discrimination: Women face bias and discrimination in the workplace, leading to limited opportunities for advancement and lower pay. This can impact their ability to achieve a good work-life balance. Many workplaces are not conducive to work life balance, with long hours, high-pressure environments, and a lack of flexibility.

For example, many companies even in the IT and entertainment industry do not offer    work from home opportunities to new mothers. Female employees with a proven track record of performance are subjected to the peer pressure of quitting, under such roles.

1. Lack of support: Women lack adequate support from supervisors, colleagues, and family members, making it harder to manage the demands of work and home. Most women returning to work after career breaks face challenges in reacclimating to the workplace and may experience feelings of disconnection and apprehension.

2. Unfair distribution of household tasks: Women may disproportionately carry the burden of household tasks and childcare, even when both parents work full-time. Some women may feel pressured to return to work quickly after maternity leave. This negatively affects their physical and mental recovery and family dynamics.

Here are 5 Simple Strategies to Achieve a Good Mental Health

• Plan Ahead for a Day/Week/Month 

Meticulously planning can help you maintain a healthy work-life balance. This means you need to plan well for both workplace activities and household chores. It is important that you do not overburden your day or week by anticipating too many tasks.

Household chores should be shared by all family members. This includes both women and men and promotes fairness. So, there’s reduced stress and foster a more balanced and fulfilling family life, regardless of gender roles.

• Understand the Value of Time

Maintaining a work life balance for women, you need to understand there are areas you cannot always fulfill. It is important that you prioritise tasks and value your time. Dedicated working hours helps to escape a world where you are working 24/7. Remember work from home does not mean work all day and night. 

• Health is, was, and will always be wealth

Good health is the most valuable asset and surpasses material wealth as it remains constant throughout time and circumstances. You cannot fulfill any duties unless you are in the right health and a good state of mind. Do not work when you need physical or mental health counselling. Trusting the best online psychologist consultation India can help you learn skills to manage anxieties or depression.

• Be Mindful of Your Mental Health

People prioritize physical health over mental health, but your body as a whole needs attention from the right healthcare experts. Neglecting any health issues for the sake of work can lead to severe detrimental effects. Mental health counselling with different therapeutic approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or mindfulness-based therapies, can help you remain calm and peaceful. 

• Connect with colleagues and family members

Nurturing meaningful relationships with family, friends and at the workplace can help you escape stress. Don’t hesitate to reach out to others for support when needed. Similarly, engaging in acts of kindness whether big or small and helping others can boost your sense of purpose and well-being.

This does not mean doing someone else’s work to a level where you find yourself exhausted. Remember, there’s a difference between providing a helping hand and getting yourself into an abusive environment. You can help others without making it an abusive relationship. 

Conclusion

Work life balance for women is all about prioritising self-care, cultivating healthy habits, and connecting with others. Seek help from an online therapist at Talk n Share when needed. Our psychotherapist can help you find the lost joy and happiness in your day-to-day life. 

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