Guest Post: Singles and Work-Life Balance

Submitted by Tjada:
I am very fortunate that my company encourages active diversity networks: forums for women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Gay/Lesbian. I am an active member in two of them as a female, African-American and I find them very helpful in navigating my career and in developing relationships.

I was at a small dinner as part of a Women's Network initiative last week and of the 12 of us around the table, only three of us were single or had no children. At one point I spoke up to say, "I have work-life balance issues too." My challenges may be different in nature, but I still struggle to nurture my personal relationships. I also struggle and worry about running a household, meeting the needs of my family, taking care of myself, and worrying that my job is too consuming.

I want it all, as most people do, but I also recognize that is impossible and trade-offs come with it. My male colleagues have similar issues. This is a universal issue and I think that if we were more comfortable discussing it as such, then more progress would be made to make Corporate America more lifestyle-friendly.