There is no denying that work is important. It is how we make a living and, at best, what we do for that living is rewarding, gives us self-worth and motivation, and justifies the need to go into the office every day. Work is an intrinsic part of life and without the worthwhile challenge of our day jobs, most of us would quickly become bored. At EVS Translations, our employees are challenged on a daily basis in their work and are sometimes pushed to the edge of their limits. During the hectic annual report season, for example, we often get inundated with orders, which increases our standard workloads and our working hours along with it. In such hectic periods, it is of prime importance – for our translators in particular – to strike a balance in their lives to ensure they can function when they come into work the next day and also so they don’t lose the enjoyment of translating.
Our employees’ lives matter to us and so we wanted to find out how the members of our team – from the translators to the accountants – unwind after work and recharge their batteries, and how this helps them to strike the right balance in their professional and private lives.
To get to the bottom of the issue, we conducted a survey among employees of EVS Translations to ask about their existing work-life balance. In this article, we will outline some of the results of our survey in detail (employees could give multiple answers):
Sport doesn’t kill you: 44 of our employees play sport to help them unwind. The most popular sports mentioned included football, jogging and basketball, but trend sports like zumba also seem to be catching on. However, everyday physical activities such as cycling haven’t lost any of their appeal. Other employees do yoga and meditation, or attend pilates or ballet classes to help them relax. What all the respondents’ answers seem to have in common is that, after a long day at your desk, physical movement is helpful in striking a good work-life balance.
Family/children and friends are also extremely important to most of our employees, who spend their time eating together, going for walks with their partners, playing with their children or simply passing the time with friends – cooking, doing leisure activities or just socialising.
We also have some musical colleagues – enough to start a band. With three guitars, a piano and a singer, we wouldn’t need much else – except perhaps a break room!
Although the vast majority of our translators already speak two languages, 13% of our employees are enrolled on courses to learn an additional language. Most languages seem to be covered from Italian to Spanish and even Chinese.
The list of activities is endless: many of us go to the cinema, theatre or opera, go on spa vacations, read, do photography, knit, bake cakes, listen to records or simply sleep! We even have an author among us.
Everyday life can become stressful when people take on too much. The same is equally true at work and in our private lives. This is why a healthy life balance and time management are vital. At EVS Translations, we are an advocate of modern working time models, which make it easier for our employees to combine work and family life, and are instrumental in fostering a healthy work-life balance.
And because translation needs not only regulate processes (EVS Translations is certified in line with ISO 9001:2008 and EN 15038), but also are carried out by satisfied in-house employees, you are in the right place here. Just send us your enquiry at uktrans(at)evs-translations.com and we will get back to you promptly.
