Katherine Lockett - Work / Life Balance For Dummies

Work/Life Balance For Dummies

by Katherine Lockett

Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

Work/Life Balance For Dummies

published by Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd 42 McDougall Street Milton Qld 4064 www.dummies.com

Copyright 2008 Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Lockett, Katherine.

Work/life balance for dummies. 1st ed.

Includes index. ISBN 978 0 731 40723 1 (pbk.).

1. Work and family. 2. Time management. 3. Self-actualisation (Psychology). 4. Quality of life. 5. Wellbeing. I. Title. II. Title: Work life balance for dummies.

306.36

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Cover image: iStockphoto/Joe Carlos Pires Pereira

Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group

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About the Author

Katherine Lockett works at the University of South Australia and helped establish the Centre for Work & Life Research Unit.

Kath holds a degree in Arts (English) and graduate diplomas in Education (Secondary) and in Business (Management). In addition to working in the education and finance sectors, she has worked in a variety of federal and state government agencies in a range of jobs and subsequently had many opportunities to view people striving to achieve work/life balance in these situations.

Kath has also lived and worked in the United Kingdom and in several states in Australia. She now lives in Adelaide and is married with one daughter (and a very friendly dog).

Dedication

To my husband, Dean, and my daughter, Carly thank you for giving me all the life I need in my work/life balance. I love you both!

Authors Acknowledgements

Work/life balance is such an enormous topic. People around me are trying their best to work, develop a career, run a house, be a decent family member, participate in their community and simply find more time to just live . All this, while trying not to feel guilty about what they feel they should be doing, instead of what they are doing.

There are literally thousands of ways to gain more work/life balance so much more expertise than just one author can offer. Academics, human resources professionals, employers, business leaders, work mates and parents at the school gate and many more people are developing, testing and adopting new ways of working and living. These experts and these real-life people have enabled me to carry out the necessary research for this book. Their passion, practicality, common sense and lateral thinking have been very inspiring.

Writing this book has been a challenging and rewarding experience. Many people can attest to being interviewed and questioned over just why they look so relaxed compared to the rest of us, why their employees stay with them for many years, or why theyve changed jobs from software programming to cafe catering. Id like to thank them all for graciously allowing me to pick their brains and for generously sharing their experiences.

I am also extremely grateful that Charlotte Duff at Wiley Publishing Australia gave me the opportunity to write this book and sustained me throughout the challenges with many words of encouragement. As did my editor, Carolyn Beaumont, whose skill made this book a much better read.

I am also grateful to my colleagues at the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia for their support and friendship: Helen Masterman-Smith, Jude Elton, Pip Williams, Natalie Skinner, Ali Elder, Catherine Earl, Jenny Linney and Sigrid Christiansen. You guys inspire and interest me every day.

Publishers Acknowledgements

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/ .

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial and Media Development

Project Editor: Carolyn Beaumont

Review Editor: Jan Sims

Acquisitions Editor: Charlotte Duff

Editorial Manager: Gabrielle Packman

Production

Layout and Graphics: Wiley Composition Services, Wiley Art Studio

Cartoons: Glenn Lumsden

Proofreader: Pamela Dunne

Indexer: Max McMaster, Master Indexing

Introduction

W elcome to Work/Life Balance For Dummies . This book is designed to help you adopt a lifestyle that allows you to feel better than utterly shattered and exhausted at the end of each working day. Are you looking for ways to have more say in how you want to structure your work and non-work life? Then this book is for you.

When you get home from work, slump through the door, drop your bag and keys and kick off your shoes and youre met by household noise, mess and kids needing attention, having any kind of work/life balance seems an impossibility. Sure, changing your situation is a challenge. And like all the vitally important challenges in life, your achieving your particular work/life balance is going to take some effort. Dont despair. You can make literally thousands of changes, from the miniscule to the major, and enjoy the genuine improvements in your approach to work, life, family and fun.