Activity balance means the right amount of activities in relation to your energy and time.
"The most important thing is to have a balance between activities that take and give energy," explains Carita Håkansson, who conducts research at the Faculty of Medicine and is an Occupational therapist at Arbets- och miljömedicin, Region Skåne.
Her research focus is the importance of activity balance for health and the individual's, employer's and family's joint responsibility for a reasonable level of activity. A topical topic since half of all sick leave is due to mental illness (Swedish Social Insurance Agency 2023). During the pandemic, stress-related sick leave fell, but then picked up again and 2023 was a gloomy record year.
Variety is important
The demands on us are many; at home, at work, in everyday life and parties, as a parent, partner, friend. It is easy to be overwhelmed by demands and no time for recovery.
"Activity balance means that the individual feels that they have the right amount of activities in their everyday life, in relation to their time and energy. It is also important to have variation between different activities and not just work."
Activity balance is important for the experience of health and well-being. According to her research, perceived health is affected by human ability and resources, environment; family, friends, work environment, and what the person is involved in, and how much. Carita Håkansson believes that it is important to look at the total demands that a person has both in their private life and at work.
"When the demands become too high overall, we people tend to reduce or remove things that give energy and coping, such as sleep or doing something that is fun or relaxing."
Perceived activity balance affects work ability, job satisfaction, work performance and whether people stay at their workplace.
"People can experience activity imbalance both when they have too much and too little to do at work, and both can lead to stress and sick leave."
Individual adaptations needed
Whose responsibility is it then that the individual has a balance of activity? Carita Håkansson believes that it is the individual's, manager's and employer's in general.
"At work, the most important thing is that employees have a reasonable workload, a clear job description with clear goals, that the demands or effort of the work are matched by sufficient rewards in the form of salary, appreciation and development opportunities."
Carita Håkansson believes that more individual adaptations are needed to make employees' life puzzles easier.
"In the future, I think employers will have to offer even more flexible working hours, the opportunity to work when and where they want, adapted tasks and to work less during different phases of life."
What can you do yourself to achieve activity balance in your life?
"Reduce the level of ambition, reflect on your situation, prioritize, set boundaries and say no. Sleep on it before saying yes, and be sure to replenish your energy."
The article was previously published in Vetenskap & Hälsa.
