Work Life Balance

This morning I was at a Business Chicks breakfast with the amazing Sir Richard Branson. He regaled us with stories of getting a “bloody bum” when jumping off a roof in Las Vegas, and how the movie The Hangover is almost certainly based on a night he partied after the Melbourne Grand Prix! One line that struck me, as a [...]

Welcome to our first ‘Balance Beam’ work life balance profile for 2013! This post is brought to you by Eugenie Pepper from PLUM. Our Balance Beam profiles are published on a semi-regular basis, placing focus on organisations from Australia, New Zealand and around the globe who are implementing a variety of work life balance initiatives into their organisation. Our aim [...]

As we get older, it becomes more important for our bodies and general health to stay active. Some studies have claimed that over half of the symptoms of old age may be attributed to inactivity and loss of fitness. 30 minutes of physical activity each day can help to reduce your risk of heart disease, depression, decreased mental function, and [...]

January is often a time of reflection, and for Lifestyle Elements it is no different. Although 2012 was quite a challenging year for us, it was also very exciting as more and more people discovered how a personal concierge could help them. Our blog was a big focus last year as we shared insights from a wide variety of people. [...]

In the workplace, a total of 3.2 days per worker are lost each year through workplace stress*, so it’s important that business leaders are mindful of work/life balance for the optimum mental wellbeing of their employees, and the creation of a healthy workplace. Mental wellbeing in the workplace continues to be a major issue for all industries. In fact, TEC [...]

You work hard to find your best employees, so don’t let them get away! Use these tips to keep your star performers happy and motivated. Jane was a successful senior executive working for a large insurance company. She was the person that you wanted to have when things did not go well. Everybody loved her for her enthusiasm, never-ending motivation [...]

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with work. It defines us, it gives purpose. Without it we are in trouble; and yet it can be so difficult to control. As a barrister in the North-east of England for fifteen years I thrived on the adrenaline, the camaraderie, the clients and – yes, okay – the money. My husband and [...]

Is there really such a thing as work/life balance? I don’t know. What I do know is that a balance is usually between two things that are quite different to each other. Some would have it that it’s a balance between opposites. If that was the case, then we should rename work/life balance the death/life balance. But that hardly seems [...]

Perhaps you’ve heard this story. Imagine you’re sitting in a class. It’s one of those big classrooms, with tiered seating, able to accommodate hundreds of students. The class is assembled in eager expectation; what will the professor do today? At exactly 8 o’clock, he strides in and without acknowledging the classes’ presence, reaches under the lectern and produces a large glass jar. He sits [...]

Over a coffee recently, a group of my friends was discussing a new “what the heck am I doing?” trend emerging among our cohort of working parents. The topic was sparked by one super busy-professional-mother-of-young-children friend who was continually interrupted by her not-so-subtle vibrating iPhone. Did I mention that she, like the rest of us around the table, had managed [...]