Running Head: INTEGRATING DSL PROGRAM IN MY WORK-LIFE BALANCE 1
Integrating DSL Program in My Work-Life Balance
Name
Instructor
Institutional Affiliation
Date
INTEGRATING DSL PROGRAM IN MY WORK-LIFE BALANCE 2
The work-life balance is the lack of opposition between one's professional job and other
life roles. In other words, it is the state of equilibrium whereby the demands of professional life,
personal life, and family life are equal. It consists of activities that are not limited to flexible
work arrangements that allow employees to continue with other personal, family, and
professional life programs. Efficient work-life balance is critical for employees as it ensures
greater employee satisfaction and loyalty to the organization. However, work-life balance may
be affected by other professional duties such as education. Pursuing other Doctorate Strategic
Leadership Program will mean more time will be required to commit to the program. As a
mother of four and an employee who works several hours in a week, I believe the program will
disorient my work-life balance.
I believe that work-life balance should be reached when there is a balance between work
and other competing priorities. As a mother of four, I tend to find it hard to have a balanced
work-life since I work long hours a day, leaving me with limited time to attend to my family
chores and other essential activities. With the introduction of the DSL program in my work-life
balance, I believe the balance will be disoriented, and there will be no longer any balance. I will
need to adjust my time, and to the extreme end, I will need to forgo other life priorities such as
personal life, including leisure time and reduce my family time to realize any sustainable balance
between work, study, and life.
With the absence of paid parental leave and the introduction of the DSL program in my
work-life balance, I believe it will be challenging to achieve a work-life balance because of these
competing priorities. The program will demand much of my time while at the same time, my
work will also require more time as always. In this case, there will be limited time left per day to
be with the family members and have time for personal leisure. It is imperative to note that
INTEGRATING DSL PROGRAM IN MY WORK-LIFE BALANCE 3
parents who are employed and at the same time undertaking studies do experience reduced
family satisfaction as a result of a reduced amount of time they take with their families.
Currently, I have many competing priorities, and with the new priority of studying Doctorate of
Strategic Leadership program, my family will likely experience reduced time they spend with me
at the same time, my husband will also have to cope with the limited time will spend together.
The imbalance between work, study, and life may be detrimental to my family, and
because the DSL program is essential, I will need to adjust by reducing the number of hours I
spend on my job. This will allow me to make more time to integrate the workload of my DSL
into my current work-life balance. Although I shall have reduced my earnings, I shall have done
justice to my doctorate program and my family, which I consider more important than my job.
We cannot assume the impact of pressure due to lack of once own time and the time for the
family. The intense pressure of time often leads to increased psychological strain, which may, in
turn, affect once health. To be able to avoid this scenario, I will have to consider reducing the
number of hours I spend on my job as this will be critical in realizing a balanced work,
profession, and life. The doctorate program is essential as it will help in advancing my career,
and as such, even if it will interfere with my work-life balance and earning, I will have to ensure
proper adjustments are available to make time for the program and my family as well.
