Ensuring work-life balance is the responsibility of every employee. Companies today encourage employees to strike a work-life balance. And they know that being assertive can help promote this balance. Thus, they look for assertiveness in every potential candidate for a position.

Companies look for assertiveness because it keeps employees happy. Also, it helps motivate them and make them more productive. Almost 4 in 5 (79%) of young people say they have missed out on employment opportunities because they weren’t assertive enough.

This shows how essential this character trait is to professionals. But you might be wondering how assertiveness promotes a work-life balance. It does so in various ways, and you’ll learn them in this post. It takes an in-depth look into assertiveness and achieving a work-life balance. Here’s what you should know about assertiveness that can help you at work and in your private life.

Understanding Assertiveness and Work-Life Balance
It’ll help to define assertiveness and work-life balance for novices briefly. According to Psychology Today, being assertive is communicating effectively while respecting other people’s rights. You can look at it as the opposite of being aggressive when interacting at work or at home.

Work-life balance means striking a healthy balance between your work and personal life. It doesn’t have to be a perfect split between the two. The time you allocate to work and personal life depends on yourself. A good balance between the two can make you healthier and happier.

Now assertiveness plays a central role in promoting a healthy work-life balance. But many people do not know the exact role it plays and why they even need it. The next section of this article will delve deeper into assertiveness and why it could help promote work-life balance.

Ways to Be Assertive for a Better Work-Life Balance
The most critical step is knowing how assertiveness can propel you to a healthy work-life balance. The best way to learn this is by first understanding the traits that will make you assertive at work. What does an assertive person do? Or, how do assertive people behave?

Here’s how you can become assertive at work to achieve a work-life balance.

Use “I” Statements
An assertive person speaks for themselves. It can be easy to get manipulated at work if you stay silent. You might get assigned duties beyond working hours without being requested to help. Also, people might take advantage of you in many other ways within the business.

Thus, it would be best if you always stood up for yourself. Learn to tell people what you want without disrespecting them. Such a trait will ensure people learn to respect you. They’ll also respect the time you set aside for your private life by not invading it without your permission.

Get Comfortable Saying “No.”
Not everyone is comfortable saying “no” even when they feel something isn’t right. But an assertive person will say it as it is without blinking. Developing such a character will help you ensure a healthy work-life balance. It will give you the peace of mind you need at work.

Practice Eye Contact
Speaking to people while looking them in the eye makes your message powerful. You should start developing this skill now if you want to become assertive. Shrinking away during a conversation is considered a sign of weakness. It might be the start of your exploitation at work.

Watch Your Emotions
Emotions shouldn’t affect how you reason with people. This is both at work and whenever you are at home. It’ll help to learn to control them to be effective while communicating. It will help you ask off-days without showing your emotions like a sympathy seeker.

Use Body Language
One way to show that you are confident enough is through body language. You can command respect by how you use body language to communicate. Your posture should be upright, and your head held high. Avoid body language that shows aggression towards other people.

Those are the essential traits you need to develop to become assertive. They’ll help you start building a healthy work-life balance. You’ll be open to saying you cannot make it to work if someone requests you to avail yourself during your leave or out-of-office hours or days.

Why Being Assertive is Vital for a Healthy Work-Life Balance
So, why does assertiveness matter in building a healthy work-life balance? If you were keen, we have almost answered this question in our previous subtopic. Assertiveness plays a critical role in how you relate at work. It helps your plan to achieve a work-life balance succeed.

For instance, assertive people know how to express themselves positively. They say “no” when they should and stand by it. Besides, they do not do so aggressively but remain respectful of other people. This makes it easy for assertive people to have their free time.

Last but not least, assertiveness will help you have time for your family. Spending time with your family promotes good mental health. It gives you time to refresh your mind, ready for the next day at work. You become more productive, and employers will want to have you in their teams.

Start Being Assertive Today to Achieve Work-Life Balance
Achieving a work-life balance can help you unlock growth opportunities in your profession. But not everyone knows the steps to achieve this balance. This post has provided one of the best ways to achieve it: being assertive. You’ll make significant strides careerwise with this trait.

We have looked deeper at how assertiveness is the key to a healthy work-life balance. You can now start practicing assertiveness as a skill. For instance, you should improve your way of communicating. Make it bold and clear. Also, it would be best if you began establishing boundaries.

But no one said assertiveness is an easy skill to build. It all starts with having a strong desire and a reason to succeed. Also, set realistic goals that will help you track your progress. With time achieving a healthy work-life balance will not be as daunting as you probably thought.