Having a career and a family/social life is hard. H.A.R.D.

And I don’t just mean for parents (of which I have recently become). I mean for anyone who has a significant other/others in their lives – so basically, all of us. Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Best Friends; we all play a role in other people’s lives, and we all want to be there for them. Work is an essential and rewarding part of all of our lives, but not the only part of it, and sometimes it’s hard to find the balance. Progressive companies are encouraging a healthy balance between work and personal responsibilities for their team, and seeing the benefit of it. In today’s competitive labour market, these work-life balance practices are truly essential for employee retention.

Last year my Husband and I had a beautiful girl (Addison, above!) – her arrival melted our hearts and changed our lives! But honestly, balance is something that I have been striving for long before our little one arrived. Having a career in the hospitality industry is the best career anyone can have (in my humble opinion!) but it is very demanding – late night networking events, early morning departures, five course meals, weekends away from friends and family, red eye flights and free flowing alcohol does not a healthy life make. One needs to really concentrate on their health in our industry in order not to burn out.

Having a daughter has reminded me that balance is essential. What that balance looks like is going to be different for everyone. I for one am going to concentrate on the ‘more’ in order to achieve that balance. What do I want more of in my life? More outdoors, more book reading, more baby dancing, more eye contact, more smiling, more hot chocolate, more yoga, more cuddles at night, more cuddles in the morning, more cuddles all the time.

I’ll be making a conscious effort to fit my ‘more’ into my daily work life, in whatever unusual form that may take. I would love to know what you want more of in your lives, get in touch!

This article published originally on the DMC Network’s blog in June 2017.