Unfortunately, summer fun is over and for many young people, it’s also back to school. Back to the grind, some might say. Now why would students say that? What exactly is the grind for many students?

Well, take a look around. Everyone is rushing! No-one has a minute to spare. Students are frantically driving around looking for a parking space, racing from class to class, darting between building and building, waiting in line at the library, tearing back to class, and then racing home to change for work.

Family time is limited to a quick hello, cold leftovers or a hastily scrawled note. Then, following their stint at a fast-paced, parttime job and fulfillment of a sixteen hour day, the student might call special friends before settling into a long night of study and homework. Night after night, day after day; it can be exhausting. And it’s a grind!

 

It truly is a grind trying to balancing work, school, family and friends. Frankly, in my opinion, pushing students to believe they have to do it all is wrong! If a student has to work or wants to work part time, what is wrong with taking more time to finish a course of studies? Where is all the pressure coming from?

As a student, remember, you’ll only be young once and you will only live once. So, it’s important to take time and enjoy your youth. Go out and explore the world. After all, believe me, the world of work will always be there. And once work gets a full grip on your life, it will rarely let go. In fact, employees often become so life dependent on all of the trappings of work that they are caught and afraid to make a change.

At this point, personal financial security also depends on work and even though the employee (former student) may now despise what they do for a living, they are paralyzed. Their life becomes a shadow of their original career dream. Some may face the danger of workaholism.

Thankfully, the work world is beginning to see that the typical student “grind” and frantic pace of life is not unlike that of many employees. While these work styles may have been successful for a short few years while attending school, it is not a healthy or productive influence in the workplace. For instance, it might interest the reader to know that stress leave is now the most common reason for workplace illness. And in some cases employees are absent from work for period of up to one year.

The overall goal of an employer is to have healthy, vibrant and high producing employees. To do so, many are creating specific supports and programs to help employees balance their lifestyle. But, the real responsibility for lifestyle rests on the individual; the employee and earlier in life, you the student! So if that’s the case, why not start now?

If you are serious about balancing school, work and family, you might consider both working part-time and attending school part-time. While this may require a longer period to graduate, there are many, many benefits, not the least of which, life isn’t so much of a grind! And there is much less stress overall. As someone who completed three degrees on a part-time basis, I can also say that part-time students are often able to more easily integrate their learnings from the workworld with their studies.

Attending school part-time is definitely a growing trend. So much so that our educational institutions are becoming more and more flexible and in fact, are directly marketing to potential part-time students. Class times are becoming more varied, as evening and weekend programs create student flexibility. Nontraditional delivery methods such as distance education and online programs have become increasingly sophisticated and are a great asset to complementing life/study balance issues. In addition, acceptance or courses from institutions other than your home educational facility is becoming more common place. This means you can combine in-person classes with distance education strategies, or in fact, you can now complete undergraduate and graduate degrees entirely through distance education.

So, although summer is over and school is back in session, life really doesn’t need to be a grind. Take my advice, think about creating a balance by stretching out career goals while combining part-time work and enjoying life to the fullest.

Barbara J. Bowes, FCHRP, CMC Barbara Bowes is President of Legacy Bowes Group. She can be reached at barb@bowesgroup.com. Legacy Bowes Group 301-161 Portage Avenue E. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2L6 p: 204.957.5525 f: 204.957.5834 e: info@legacybowes.com « Back