How to Keep A Balance Work-Life Balance in China

In the eyes of most people, Chinese people always work very hard for long hours every day. And that’s indeed a fact. In the West, employees generally work 5 days a week, 7-8 hours a day, but in China, most employees only take one day off a week and may work up to 10 hours a day. Working in China will be very stressful, even if you are more likely to have a more comfortable working environment and higher wages.

Based on this situation, how to achieve work-life balance in China is extremely important.

1. Arrive early, leave early

If your company allows flexible working hours, arriving office early is a good choice for you. Early shift not only allows you to get to work faster since no one will distract you for your colleagues may still be at home, but it also prevents you from missing social activities causing by working at night. After all, few people will have the Party in the early morning.

Arranging your schedule in advance will be of great help to release your pressure.

2. Leaving the workplace for lunch

Although ordering take-out in the office is much more convenient than eating out for lunch, staying in the office for a long time can easily cause you to lose energy. Going out of the office, finding a restaurant for lunch, chatting with friends and breathing fresh air will make you feel more energetic, and let you meet the afternoon work in a better state.

3. Don't take work home

If possible, leave all your office equipment, such as laptops, IPADs, and client files in the office. Because in your subconscious, these material things represent the work itself and a glance can make you feel the pressure of work which will increase your psychological burden.

If you can't leave these devices in the office, set an "out of work" time, that is, during this time you will not deal with any work issues or respond to emails and messages.

If you have to work at night, please stay in the office as much as possible instead of working from home. Don't let your home become another office battlefield.

4. Make friends outside of work

Unlike local employees, foreigners usually become good friends with their colleagues when working in China since they spend most of time a day together. However, if your friends are all your colleague, even if you go outside to have some fun, there will always be someone who will eventually bring work to the discussion. An endless loop!

Therefore, you need friends outside of work. In sports or social clubs, you can find a group of people who have the same hobbies as you. Making friends with them will make your life in China more colorful. You may need to spend a lot of time and energy to find them at the beginning, but this will allow you to have a healthy relationship.

5. Don't talk about work outside the office

Whether it is with your family, friends or colleagues, try not to discuss work-related matters with them after work if you don't want to fall into the "trap" of work. People seem to be accustomed to complaining or talking about work with close families or friends and treat this behavior as a way to relieve stress. In fact, talking about work endlessly will make you feel the pressure of work all the time.

Besides this, you may try to find new connections to hang out with friends to relax in your lesure time.