We’ve lifted the lid on the state of the nation’s relationships.@Relate_charity & @RelScot launch #TWWAN16 research today < Pls RT. pic.twitter.com/efy4dCJJqn
— Relationships Scot (@RelScot) October 25, 2016
It’s difficult to know when we first started using the phrase “work-life balance”. The implication is that work is something separate from the rest of our lives, that we need only reduce the amount we work to focus on “life”.
In reality, for most people, work is a central part of life. And our relationship to work is fundamental to our mental wellbeing. After all, for those of us who are working, it takes up so much of our time. And for those of us who are not, due to health, unemployment or other circumstances, work is far from irrelevant. It’s still a big part of how we are defined.
It is really interesting to see this new research from Relationships Scotland. It looks at the impact of work on relationships and mental wellbeing. There’s some good news in there. Three quarters of people say that they have good relationships with colleagues. But, unfortunately that drops to less than two thirds among people who identify as LGBT.
Despite moves towards making workplaces more family friendly, one in five said that attending to caring duties was frowned upon at work and a third said their employer assumes that the most productive staff put work before family life.
Our work affects our health, which affects our relationships, which affects our wellbeing, which affects our ability to work. It’s something of a cycle. Making workplaces more supportive would be better for everyone.
You can learn more about the research at the Relationships Scotland website.
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