find The right work-life balance It is not an easy task in our society. Especially with the arrival of Covid-19, which prevented the effective integration of smart work In our daily lives. For this reason, many workers are asking science how to balance their personal goals with their work lifestyle by 2022.
Although science has studied the effects that a lack of work and personal balance can have, it has not found it necessary to clarify whether work is the best way to regulate this balance. However, High rates of unemployment and the self-employed It made it necessary to clarify what the science of work equilibrium is about.
Does work make us happy?
According to the study published in the journal ConversationAnd Work can give us a sense of competence that contributes to personal well-being. The reason for this is that the file Humans tend to seek out activities that require more effort and social validation. Well, it is the brain’s way of asserting its identity as a competent individual in the environment.
when brain He performs a difficult task, releases a high level of endorphins. the endorphins They are small protein chains that produce a dopamine-like feeling of pleasure. Which may motivate us to prefer work to free time on many occasions. The latter was demonstrated by an experiment conducted by the Association for Psychological Sciences in 2010. Participants were asked to choose between being inactive in a room for 15 minutes or engaging in walking for 15 minutes.
The researchers found that the vast majority chose to hike. Even more intriguingly, after 15 minutes of walking, participants seemed significantly happier than those who waited 15 minutes. In other words, Obligations or work contribute to happiness. Even animals seem to pick it up instinctively: in experiments, most would rather work for food than get it for free.
Are we unhappy in our spare time?
It is a common myth that we believe that comfort assures a person healthy and happy life. But work equilibrium science does not think this is the case. Well, it has been proven that 22% of retirees choose freelance jobs to keep themselves entertained, even if it doesn’t provide them with financial pay.
A recent study suggested that There is really a lot of free timeBecause we have flexible working hours in our homes. This generates a psychological change in our brain regarding the feeling of well-being. This means that we feel that the more free time we have, the less fun we have. This may explain why some people prefer to work hard in their spare time. Or reinvest that time into some hobby, like learn a language Or take an online course, which helps you apply and accumulate work results. The practices that we today arbitrarily classify as “free time” but, from a scientific point of view, have more to do with the word “work.”
The science of perfect balance
For the record, it is possible to achieve The perfect balance between work and personal life. It is not necessarily about changing when, where and how we operate; But why do we work? In other words, they understand the source of happiness behind the job. This perspective is closely related to the psychological concept of “eudaimonic happinessWhich states that well-being can only be obtained through the modernization of human potential, that is, through the implementation of tasks that stimulate our personal growth.
A concept that contrasts with the idea of delicious happiness, whereby positive emotions such as joy and pleasure can only be obtained when practices that generate sadness or anxiety. A perspective that does not provide a long-term feeling of happiness, but more than 50% of people continue with it throughout their lives.
Therefore, science invites workers to think through a work-balance perspective based on good happiness. Well, while it may not always be fun, it guarantees both personal development and a lasting sense of well-being.
However, Everyone is different. Then you can measure the lifestyle that suits you best in these pandemic times: pleasure or happiness.
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