Balancing your professional and personal life can be a challenge in today's demanding workplace.

With the recession pushing many professionals to work harder than ever and technology enabling work around the clock, achieving work-life balance is more important - and elusive - than ever What is work life balance? Work-life balance is a concept that supports the efforts of employees to split their time and energy between work and the other important aspects of their lives. About.com Guide to Human Resources Susan Heathfield explains the concept of work life balance

Fathers and paid work - sample questionnaire

Introduction (You may want some sort of endorsement from a CEO or manager to increase confidence that this issue matters.) We are keen to explore whether there are any particular issues for men with fathering responsibilities within this organisation. We want to find out what we are doing well to assist fathers balance their work and family life, and how we could improve. Your answers are confidential. Please return this questionnaire to:..by Thank you for your help. (Signed) Section 1: Demographic information 1. How old are you? Under 30 years 31-40 years Over 40 years

2. How many children do you have? 1 2 3 4 5 more than 5

3. How old are your children? Under 2 years 2-5 years 6-10 years 11-14

15-18 over 18 years 4. Do any of your children have a disability or special needs? Yes No

Having a balance 5. Do you generally feel you are able to balance your work and family life? Yes No

6. Do you currently use any of the work-life policies or programmes provided by the organisation? Yes Working hours 7. Do any of the following help you balance your work and family commitments?
Yes Flexible starting times Flexible finish times Flexible hours generally Time off for family emergencies & events Part-time or reduced work hours Time off in school holidays Compressed working week/fortnight No Not available to me Not applicable to me

No

8. Do any of the following hinder you in balancing your work and family commitments?
Yes Long work hours Compulsory over time Weekend work Shift work Timing of work meetings/training No Not applicable to me

Support from others 9. Do any of the following help you balance your work and family commitments?
Yes Support from manager/supervisor Support from colleagues Support from team members Encouragement to use paid and unpaid parental leave Seeing other men use work/family policies No Not Not available to applicable me to me

10. Do any of the following hinder you balance your work and family commitments?
Yes Negative attitude of managers Negative attitude of colleagues Negative attitude of team members No Not applicable to me

Working arrangements 11. Do any of the following help you balance your work and family commitments?
Yes Working from home Technology such as laptops or cell phones Being able to bring children into work on occasions No Not available to me Not applicable to me

12. Do any of the following hinder you balancing your work and family commitments?
Yes Technology such as laptops or cell phones Frequent travelling away from home No Not applicable to me

Getting a balance 13. What could this organisation do to help you balance your work and family life? Comments:

14. Do you think that if employees have good work-life balance the organization will be more effective and successful? Yes/No If so how?

Thank you for your time.

Agree Disagree 1. I feel like I have little or no control over my work life 2. I regularly enjoy hobbies or interests outside of work 3. I often feel guilty because I can't make time for everything I want to 4. I frequently feel anxious or upset because of what is happening at work 5. I usually have enough time to spend with my loved ones 6. When I'm at home, I feel relaxed and comfortable

7. I have time to do something just for me every week 8. On most days, I feel overwhelmed and over-committed 9. I rarely lose my temper at work 10. I never use all my allotted vacation days 11. I often feel exhausted - even early in the week 12. Usually, I work through my lunch break 13. I rarely miss out on important family events because of work 14. I frequently think about work when I'm not working 15. My family is frequently upset with me about how much time I spend working

What Your Score Means 0 5: Your life is out of balance - you need to make significant changes to find your equilibrium. But you can take control! 6 -10: Youre keeping things under control but only barely. Now is the time to take action before youre knocked off balance. 11 15: Youre on the right track! Youve been able to achieve work/life balance now, make sure you protect it. Learn more about how to get and keep good work/life balance. Top 3 Tips for Staying in Balance Schedule brief breaks for yourself throughout the day Turn off your cell phone and leave your laptop at work. Create and implement a household budget.

Work/Life Balance; Stress and Work Pace

The environment in this organization supports a balance between work and personal life. My manager understands the importance of maintaining a balance between work and personal life. I am able to satisfy both my job and family responsibilities. I am not forced to choose between job and family obligations. The pace of the work in this organization enables me to do a good job. The amount of work I am asked to do is reasonable. The organization has reasonable expectations of its employees. My job does not cause unreasonable amounts of stress in my life