Improving Work-Life Balance: A Guide for Developers

Work-life balance is an expression that indicates the equilibrium between professional and private life, to make the two aspects coexist in a more productive and healthy way.

The concept, born in Britain in the 1970s, is much broader than it used to be and, recently, it has become a determining factor in one's career choices. Today, workers realize that to achieve overall psycho-physical well-being, it is essential to balance professional activity with personal life.

Why is work-life balance so important?

Compared to the past, the values that people seek in the workplace have partially changed. Especially the younger generations highlight a need for work-life balance that was previously not sufficiently considered or communicated by companies.

For this reason, some companies have begun to place great importance on the welfare of their employees, also acknowledging the positive implications of this change in work paradigm. Motivation and satisfaction in the workplace are indeed two of the main ingredients to foster team working, productivity, and achieving goals.

Work-Life Balance: The Situation in Italy

According to a 2022 research by Randstad "Employer Brand Research 2022", work-life balance is one of the most important factors people consider when choosing a new company.

The survey conducted by Randstad in Italy highlighted which factors determine a potential employee's choices when selecting an employer.

In particular, it identifies 5 in order of importance:

• good balance between work and private life (65%),
• pleasant work atmosphere (65%),
• attractive salary and benefits (61%),
• job security (58%),
• visibility of career path (54%).

This research shows that the majority of the sampled individuals consider balance between private life and work as one of the most relevant and priority elements for their professional choices. The value scale, compared to the past, has therefore changed, and today other factors are preferred such as:

• a stimulating and dynamic work environment,
• continuous training that allows professional growth,
• work flexibility,
• participation in interesting and innovative projects.

All aspects contribute to forming what is indeed defined as work-life balance, which should be a priority for companies looking towards the future.

Balancing Work and Private Life: A Guide for Developers

First of all, it is important to emphasize that the perfect work-life balance does not exist, as it is different for each individual.

A developer’s life can be very stressful, with very dense periods of tasks and projects to complete. However, especially in these cases, maintaining an excellent balance between work and private life is essential. Here are some tips to avoid burnout and maintain high efficiency:

• Define priorities: Having a clear distinction of daily task priorities also allows planning high-priority activities during times of the day when you are most energetic (some individuals are more reactive in the morning while others have more energy during afternoon hours).
• Identify potential problems: Recognizing issues that could cause bottlenecks and blockages in the workflow is the first step to solving them and making the workflow smoother.
• Work with the Agile method: DevOps and Agile are tools that can improve collaboration and communication within the development team.
• Set boundaries: Especially when working remotely, it is difficult to completely disconnect even outside working hours. - Avoid checking emails or tasks when you are on break or after working hours and respecting your personal time is a great starting point for work-life balance.

With all these precautions and tips, you will be able to find your balance and this, in addition to bringing benefits from an individual point of view, could also be crucial for your team. Indeed, all personal experiences we are involved in outside of work can translate into new ideas and new perspectives to bring into the corporate organization.

Work-Life Balance at Astrorei

"Do you know that in Google if you're working more than 40 hours a week all the time then your team will get attention because there is something wrong with the team, and it will get corrected."

Is it really necessary to work beyond working hours? According to Google (and also according to us), no. A well-organized team with an agile workflow allows all members a good work-life balance, completing all tasks within working hours and ensuring everyone's well-being.

All members of our team are young programmers, united by a passion for computer science, but with many personal interests we want to cultivate! We place particular importance on private life, which is why we ensure flexible hours and the opportunity to choose whether to work on-site or remotely.

For us, it's essential to ensure our employees have a work-life balance, and we are committed to safeguarding these values for everyone who enters the Astrorei universe.

Why Join Astrorei?

We are always looking for new talents to grow our team. Do you see yourself in what you have just read and in our values? Send us your CV!

Here are 6 good reasons to choose us:

• Stimulating environment: you will find a serene environment capable of supporting you at every stage of work to maximize your potential.
• Flexible hours: flexible hours will guarantee you more time to reconcile private life and work.
• Training: you will be entered into a growth program to achieve your goals and cultivate your professional passions.
• Interesting projects: you will be able to work on stimulating and innovative projects.
• Team building: participate in events, industry fairs, and group outings to increase mutual trust and collaboration. We are a team!
• Equipment and gadgets: besides the company computer, you will be provided with exclusive gadgets to truly become part of the Astrorei universe.