Wheel of Life

Abstract

This continues the author’s previous article, in which the concept of work-life balance was described and defined as a way of tackling the problem of increasing amounts of stress in the workplace as people try to juggle a wide range of factors in their life/work environment, including: work; family; friends; health; and spirit/self. (Byrne, 2005). Reviews the major factors involved in stress, with suggestions about ways of managing it. Notes that the term has become overworked to cover a wide range of aspects of modern living, putting forward some possible reasons why this has come about. Attempts to place stress in the health context of why certain types of stress can be good for the individual and why others can be bad. The typical signs of stress are listed in some detail, with a discussion of how such symptoms can impinge on the quality of an employee’s work through its effect on physical well-being, mental abilities and behaviour. Describes how excessive stress can be traced to: excessive workload; the assumption that staff can read an individual’s mind; bullying; continual change; lack of challenge; constant interruptions; and poor internal communication. The article concludes that the problems of stress can be overcome through the application of a simple tool called the ‘Wheel of Life’, which can indicate where the imbalances lie in an individual’s life at present and point to ways of addressing them. The Wheel of Life, a familiar concept in many religious and spiritual cultures, represents the constant movement and change in life and comprises a wheel/circle divided into eight segments into which the individual places the top eight top priorities currently in force in their life. The wheel/circle then forms the central part of a plan for stress relief and ways in which it can be applied are described.