Technique 1.136 Work Place/Life Balance (A Self-Assessment)
Introduction
This assessment looks at your current work experiences, ie where your time and attention are going.
There are no right or wrong answers; the more honestly you answer the questions, the more benefit you will get from the assessment.
Questions
1. To understand the type of work you do on a weekly basis, list your main projects, assignments, tasks or responsibilities?
Answer
| i) | ii) |
| iii) | iv) |
| v) | vi) |
2. To what extent do your projects, assignments and responsibilities, give you a.....(tick the appropriate box)?
| Statement/ranking | Not at all |
Infrequently |
Sometimes |
Often |
Very often |
Always |
| Sense of purpose |
||||||
| Sense of autonomy |
||||||
| Sense of mastery | ||||||
| Sense of progress |
||||||
| Alignment with your interests |
3. List what contributes to your current level of motivation, or lack of, for your projects,
| Project/assignments, etc | Contributes to motivation | Contributes to lack of motivation |
| i) | ||
| ii) | ||
| iii) | ||
| iv) | ||
| v) | ||
| vi) |
4. Name 5 values that are important to you about work and career? Then rank how well your current work experiences are aligned with those values?
| Important values/ranking | Never |
Rarely |
Occasionally |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
| i) | ||||||
| ii) | ||||||
| iii) | ||||||
| iv) | ||||||
| v) |
5. Looking at the statements below, and decide which statement best describes your current projects, assignments, etc? Then using the scale below, tick which box that best describes your current projects, assignments, responsibilities, etc?
| Statements/ranking |
very true |
true |
slightly true |
slightly true |
true |
very true |
Statements |
| i. Focuses you on tasks you are not good at | i.Leverages on what you are good at | ||||||
| ii. Uncertainty about the best approach | ii. Certain about the best approach | ||||||
| iii. Makes you motivated to improve | iii. Not motivated to improve | ||||||
| iv. Have a unclear solution | iv. Have a clear solution | ||||||
| v. Have new, first-time experiences | v. Your experiences are repeated | ||||||
| vi. Are out of your zone of comfort | vi. Are within your zone of comfort | ||||||
| vii. Focus on tasks you are not good at | vii Focus on past things you've perform well in | ||||||
| viii. Require you to learn new things | viii. Require you to use what you know | ||||||
| ix. Feel difficult for you | ix. Feel easy for you | ||||||
| x. You need to learn what to do | x. You know what to do | ||||||
| xi. Have a reasonable chance of failure | xi. Have a reasonable chance of success | ||||||
| xii. Focus on things that are new to you | xii. Focus on things you've done in the past | ||||||
| xiii. Requires you to do activities like a novice | xiii. Do activities you have expertise in | ||||||
| xiv. Are unfamiliar challenges | xiv. Are familiar challenges | ||||||
| xv. Create uncertainty for you | xv. Create certainty for you | ||||||
| xvi. Require you to discover new approaches | xvi. Utilise approaches you have previously used | ||||||
| xvii. Highlight your gaps and weaknesses | xvii. Highlights your strengths | ||||||
| xviii. Requires you to learn new skills | xviii. Leverages the skills you already have | ||||||
| xix. People expect you to keep improving | xix. People expect you to deliver results now | ||||||
| xx. Requires you to struggle | xx. Allows you to perform at your best |
6. Evaluating your work/home life balance by ticking the appropriate box?
| Statements/ranking |
Never |
Infrequently |
Sometimes |
Often |
Very often |
Always |
| i. Hard to switch off from work at the end of the day | ||||||
| ii. Worry about upcoming or past events | ||||||
| iii. A lack of boundaries between work and home | ||||||
| iv. A lack of energy | ||||||
| v. Hard to get motivated | ||||||
| vi. A work ethic that is hard to turn off | ||||||
| vii. Tend to fuse your identity with your work | ||||||
| viii. Lack of time/energy to engage in hobbies/activities that recharge you |
(source: Nick Petrie, 2023)
Based on your answers, determine areas you need to focus on to get the balance right for work and non-work activities; for example if you tend to fuse your identity with your work, then you may need to develop some outside activities, interests or hobbies that are not work-related.