Talking to Your Manager About Work-Life Balance

If you’re struggling to balance your work and personal life, chances are, your manager or direct boss is contributing to these issues. Does you manager constantly give you work over the weekends or ask you to work late? Do you get in trouble if you’re a few minutes late?  If so, it’s time to do something about the issue.

Step 1: Recognize the Problem

If you don’t have any balance between you work and personal life, first look for the reason why.  Are you pushing yourself too hard and constantly competing with your co-workers? Or do you feel pressured by your boss to go above and beyond every day?  Try making a list of the projects your boss has given you that are causing you the most stress. Then, think of some ways you could help yourself. If you try those things and realize your boss truly is the issue, it’s time to call a meeting.

Step 2: Honest Conversation with Your Boss

Arrange a time to meet with your boss to discuss your concerns. Professional honesty is the best tone for the meeting.  The focus of the meeting should be on your position and the responsibilities. Focus on the nature of your position and your ability to accomplish your tasks and goals with working flexibly.

Step 3: Know When to Go To HR

First, make sure you understand your company’s guidelines and policies because every workplace is different.  However, if you have meet with your boss and the problem persists, it’s probably time to go to HR.  Meeting with HR is a great way to understand your organization’s experience with and overall openness to work-life balance. Doing so will help you understand how the company tries to help its employees and getting this background information will help you determine if there are organization barriers or if the challenge really is just dealing with a reluctant manager.

It might seem like a big, scary decision to make, but you’ll be much happier when you have a boss who understands you have a life when you leave the office!