What Clark Kent Can Teach Us About Work-Life Balance

In this hectic world we live in, working has seemed to become a major priority. Businesses want work done quickly in order to meet their bottom line, and with cost of living going up, people need to work more in order to pay their bills, buy food, etc. Many even don’t take vacations, or work during their vacations to some extent. It can be hard for someone to have a life outside of work, or to juggle their job with their home life. Working parents can find it hard balancing their jobs with taking care of the children – getting them off to school, taking them to after-school activities, dealing with emergency calls from the school nurse, etc. Finding a work-life balance is necessary for us, however, because we do need a break from the stress of trying to juggle it all the time, and we often find ourselves in awe of those we meet who have managed to find that balance.

Take Clark Kent for example. We all know him, right? The alter ego of Superman. Many of us have been impressed by him and his various powers. But what is also impressive is how he manages to balance his superhero activities with being a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet. We can’t help but wonder, how does he manage to do it? How does he juggle two identities? What can he teach us about balancing work and life?

• Priorities

Sure, your job is important. You have deadlines to meet, appointments to keep, interviews to do. But your family and home life is important, too. You have things to deal with at home, children to care for, etc. Which is more important? A scheduled client interview or a suddenly sick kid? Clark Kent would never hesistate to do what was right. If an emergency came up that threatened the peace, whether it was a bank robbery or a more dire threat, he put on his suit and did what had to be done, dropping whatever he was doing as a reporter to save the day. He knew what was more important. We need to be able to know where our priorities lie, know what’s more important to us. If we can do that, we can lessen how much we worry about things.

• Avoid overwork

Don’t work too much. You may enjoy your work, and you may like to work overtime for the extra money, but working too much without a break can cause you to burn out. Remember, Clark Kent/Superman has all those neat powers, but if he uses them too much he can run out of strength and need to recharge. Working too much can wear you out and even cause you health problems. Take a break once in a while to rest and relax and recharge, like Superman using the sun to recharge. Maybe go out with friends and have some fun or take the family on a day trip, to just get away for a bit.

• Uniform

Clark Kent wears his suit and tie to the office when he’s working at the Daily Planet as a mild-mannered reported. But when he steps into the phone booth and puts on his Superman suit, it’s “game on”. We may like the idea of wearing casual clothes to the office, but if we have a set of clothes we wear to the office, and a different set for when we’re not working, it will help us to separate our work life from our home life. We’ll know the business suits mean “work” and the other means “not work” and we can leave “work” behind us when we’re not wearing the suit.

These are just a few of the things Clark Kent can teach us about balancing work and life. As Superman said in the comics, he became Clark Kent in order to keep his sanity, and his adoptive father reinforced that by saying that “Superman just helps out now and then.” We need to be able to find a similar balance between our life and work so we can stay sane as well and don’t become overstressed.

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