Private equity firms are well-known for their high-intensity work environments, which can be highly stressful and take their toll on your personal life. Many firms pride themselves on this. It’s seen as a sign of being hard-working and someone who will sacrifice everything to get the job done. While this way of working can be highly effective, it’s not sustainable or healthy over the long term, especially if you want to maintain your quality of life and sanity. To achieve a healthy work-life balance in private equity, follow the tips mentioned on this page.
Private equity work-life balance is about finding a way to balance your job and your life outside work. Work-life balance might be the difference between an outstanding and an average employee. It’s also the difference between being able to stay engaged at work or feeling burned out and disconnected from your team. Work-life balance is essential for everyone because it allows you to feel fulfilled and happy in your life, while still giving you the energy to do great things at work. Moreover, the private equity industry is primarily known for its intense work environment. From the moment you arrive at a firm, you are expected to be on call 24/7 and work almost constantly. The ability to cope with this lifestyle can aid your success in private equity.
5 Pointers for a Healthy Work-Life Balance in Private Equity
How can an employee achieve work-life balance? And how can they maintain it?
The first step toward achieving a healthy balance between your personal life and your professional responsibilities is to understand what it means for you. That way, when you’re at work, you’ll know what’s expected of you and what’s not. You’ll also be able to establish whether your employment aligns with your own objectives.
For many people who work in private equity firms, the majority of their time is spent working on projects. It means there isn’t much room left for anything else—including family or friends. But even if your job revolves around investing capital into companies and managing them once they’re up and running, that doesn’t mean that everything else has been taken care of.
Here are tips to help you achieve a healthy work-life balance in private equity to excel in your career without sacrificing personal happiness or well-being.
1. Understand what makes you happy
To achieve work-life balance, it is essential first to understand what makes you happy. Consider the activities that make you happy, fulfilled, and energized. Some people love to exercise, while others enjoy reading. Once you know what brings you joy, map out your week so that you’re sure to include these activities on a regular basis.
For instance, if you enjoy watching movies with your partner, plan a date night once a week. If you’re an avid runner, commit to running thrice weekly before 8 am.
It’s essential to be flexible and realistic with your new schedule. Don’t commit to doing something that might make you unhappy to balance your work and personal life. Instead, aim for quality over quantity. If cooking is how you relax after a long day, try making one meal per week on Sunday instead of three meals each night.
2. Reward Yourself
It is essential to reward yourself and treat yourself well. Try your best to schedule some time for relaxation and self-care. Learn how to say no more often, and when you do say yes, take care of yourself by setting boundaries. Learn to say no more often by being honest about your needs and making decisions that are right for you. Take time for self-care activities like yoga, meditation, or going on a hike with friends. We all need to recharge our batteries from time to time.
One way to do this is by scheduling breaks during the day. Put in place policies at work that allows people to work flexibly without judgment and enforce them so people can feel comfortable taking breaks as needed. Take 10 minutes off every hour or a half for rest or something productive like checking emails. The result will be less fatigue and more focus for the day.
3. Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries is the key to achieving a work-life balance. It can be as simple as setting specific work hours or working from home one day of the week. It can also include cutting back on client time or taking time off. And if it doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to change it up.
4. Take note of how you spend your time
Take account of how you spend your time. Using the Eisenhower Matrix, divide work into four categories:
- Important tasks and Urgent tasks too,
- Important task but Not Urgent task,
- Urgent tasks but Not Important tasks and,
- Not Important tasks and Not Urgent Tasks.
Know your priorities and focus on them. At each given time, ask yourself why you’re doing how you’re doing. What is it that will cheer you up? What are the things that will give you a reason for living? Make these things your priority. Moreover, make room for rest and playtime.
5. Prioritize Sleep
It’s been shown that an average of six to eight hours of sleep per night is critical to maintaining good health and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. If you don’t get this much sleep, your health and well-being will deteriorate.
Additional strategies for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The following suggestions will assist you in achieving a good work/life balance at your private equity business.
- Commit to Taking Care of Yourself: Schedule time into your day (even if it’s only 5 minutes) to do something that nourishes and energizes you. Whatever it is, make sure it aligns with what your body needs. To maintain self-care, you must ensure it’s a part of your daily routine.
- Take Time for Self-Care: Achieving a healthier lifestyle requires making self-care an essential part of your daily routine, such as washing your face and brushing your teeth.
- Find What Works Best for You: There’s no one-size-fits-all regarding self-care – find what works best for you by exploring various activities such as running, painting, cooking, reading magazines about travel destinations, etc.
- Create New Habits That Support Your Goals: Making small changes over time has the power to create habits that support goals like improved wellness and better health through exercise.
Private equity firms and work-balance
Private equity firms are known for their long hours, but they aren’t the only ones who put in long hours. Therefore, most Private equity investors and senior executives said they spend at least 50% of their time working.
Some private equity firms have a culture of work-life balance that can be lauded, but this isn’t the norm. And it’s not just about hours worked: It’s about everything else that happens during those hours — travel, meetings, dinners, and more.
Private equity is a young industry, and it’s still evolving. There are many new ways to work and new ideas about what makes for a good working environment.
Here are ways to make private equity work for you:
- Maintain scheduling flexibility.
- Work with people who get you rather than against you.
- Make sure you’re happy with your job. It is key to your success in private equity because happy employees are productive employees — they don’t need to be talked into staying, they want to visit.
- Don’t overwhelm yourself.
Conclusion
If you’re considering entering the private equity field, rest assured that it’s one of the most lucrative career choices available. However, if you plan on juggling life and work as you progress in your role, then you have to stay on top of this balance. Private equity professionals are lucky to have some of the best jobs in the business world, but they come with their fair share of stressors. By learning how to strike the right work-life balance, Private equity professionals can reduce some of this stress and enjoy their jobs even more.
