August 7, 2012

While a passion for working is a positive quality for any professional to have, workers who invest themselves fully into their careers risk the chance of suffering from workaholism. This line is hard to distinguish for some individuals, especially those who love what they do and seek inspiration from their day-to-day work routines. While business professionals should embrace their devotion to their careers, they should keep in mind that employers appreciate an individual who can successfully balance a fulfilling personal life with their regular work duties.

"It's easy to miss the signs," Ronald Burke, co-author of "Risky Business," told the Financial Post. "Work addicts are rewarded, valued members of an organization. But what's going on in their deepest souls, the signs of pain are not visible."

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an international group that helps governments tackle global economic challenges, 85.8 percent of males and 66.5 percent of females work more than 40 hours a week. While some countries do not practice strict laws about requiring vacation time - the U.S. has no law enforcing paid vacation - Canada requires that all full-time workers receive at least 10 days of paid time off each year.

As the technology industry continues to evolve and produce new devices to make tasks of the workplace easier, businesses now can expect employees to be "on call" from any location, which is convenient when workers must suddenly take an unexpected trip. Many managers now allow workers to log in from the comfort of their homes or in remote locations a set number of times a week as well. By using their smartphones, laptops or portable tablets to access their business networks, they can complete just about every task that they would in their office, no matter where they are.

One way that business professionals can make sure that they are balancing their personal and professional lives is to separate them completely from each other. They can notify friends and family that unless there is an emergency, they will not answer calls or emails during the day that are not related to their jobs. After hours, they can turn off their work emails and stow away their laptops, spending time with family and loved ones.

Students can practice balancing business duties and personal lives when they enter college and take business courses in a program like Accounting and Payroll Administration to jumpstart their careers. For more information about programs at CDI College, fill out the form on the right.