Personal life. Work life. Professional life. These are all things that EMBA students have to juggle while studying. So is it any wonder that some students struggle to cope with achieving a work-life balance?
For many of us, waking up in the morning and trudging to work for the usual 9-5 (or whenever you finish…) grind is an arduous prospect. We come home aching and tired and look forward to some relaxation in the evening – yet this is not the case for an EMBA student.
An EMBA student is expected to complete university assignments, keep up with colleagues in the boardroom and spend quality time with their family on a day-to-day basis. These expectations can be difficult to meet – unless you’re a superhero – so it’s important to plan how you will achieve a work-life balance while you’re enrolled onto an executive program.
To take away the added pressure of compiling your own list of de-stress tips around your busy schedule (trust me – we get it), we’ve compiled a list of work-life balance tips to assist you on your journey to dealing with stress.
Maintaining the life half of work-life balance…
It is key to have the support of your family before applying to an EMBA program. If your spouse is not on board with you taking on such a demanding work load, then this could cause ruptures at home. In May, we interviewed London Business School EMBA graduate Jessica Dugan, who emphasized the importance of family support in achieving a healthy work life balance.
“If you are married then I would strongly recommend that you have to have complete support from your spouse before applying, which I was lucky to have, because it makes your time studying so much easier,” says Jessica.
Family can also assist with dealing with stress relating to professional life. Taking days away from work and study with your loved ones will give you some much needed distance from the pressure of day-to-day life. Your cohort may seem like your new family as you delve deeper and deeper into your advanced business education, but don’t forget about your family back home! You will need support from both your cohort and your loved ones once enrolled onto a course.
Some universities, such as ESMT, host ‘family days’ so that students can invite their friends and loved ones to experience EMBA life. At IESE Business School, family support plays a crucial role in the EMBA program ethos. The school website states that: “Students' families play a fundamental role throughout the program. The EMBA is a joint project that needs the support of all the people who share in your everyday life. We therefore firmly believe that they should actually participate in the program. During the course, different events are organized for family members so they can get to know your classmates, the facilities and the entire IESE team.”
Encouraging family members to engage with the program, even in a very small way, can open lines of communication about the demands of your course and how your family can deal with these demands as a unit. Showing that your university is committed to helping you achieve a work-life balance is very helpful too, so be sure to research your school’s stance on achieving a balance before enrollment.
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