Essay Sample on the Issue of Integrating Family and Work

The article examines the correlation between the workplace responsibilities and the family responsibilities. The author argues that every employee, despite their position, duties, or even gender faces challenges in the attempts to balance between their families and their careers. The article thus proposes the various approaches that individuals could use to overcome these difficulties and have an all-around happy family and corporate life (Bailyn, Drago & Kochan, 2001). The article examines the conditions that make it harder for the individuals to balance between their work and their families. One of the primary challenges is the failure to recognize that these two aspects always compete for attention. Therefore, people do not develop a workable solution to minimize the pressure.

The authors hold that it is only through systematic planning and execution that someone can achieve a conformable life without major time squeezes. Firstly, people ought to have a workable priority list that examines the difference between their work and their family. For instance, when someone has a young family and a new job, the pressure to maintain both is often at the extremes. In a different situation, an old career and a new family might ease the pressure as the individual focuses on the family more than the career. The priority list allows workers to allocate time to the things that they feel important now and useful in the future.

The authors also analyze the various solutions adopted by individuals to maintain a healthy balance between work and family. Occasionally, this might include work unions advocates, specialists to take care of the children among others (Bailyn, Drago & Kochan, 2001). However, it suffices to show that, in most cases, these solutions do not offer the necessary happiness levels as an individual still suffers from time pressure gaps. For instance, despite the fact that nannies can offer professional services to young families, an individual is likely to feel guilty for leaving his or her children in the care of the nanny. At the extreme, such a feeling might reduce the productivity of the individual in his workplace.

After analyzing the themes, I found the article helpful in finding the healthy balance between work and family. Considering my family and my career, I opine that I have not been giving much attention to my career due to the demand from my family. The trend has led to stagnation for the last two years without any major progress. While my family needs me, it is also vital to focus more on the career to ensure the financial security of my family in the future.

In the preceding years, I will meet the balance by creating an effective timetable and selecting workable solutions to the current pressure. The timeline for my balance will focus on the time spent between career and family as well as when and how to allocate the time. On the other hand, selecting effective solutions such as children programs, vacations, and family bonding time will increase my overall productivity as a parent and an employee. The article offers useful insights on how to avoid work-family pressure by clearly outlining your position and creating a priority list that guides your operations between the two. I found the article useful and detailed enough to help all the employees who face similar struggle despite their positions at work or social life.

References

Bailyn, L., Drago, R., & Kochan, T. A. (2001). Integrating work and family life. A Holistic

Approach, A Report of the Sloan Work-Family Policy Network: MIT, Sloan School of Management.