• Question: how much does your job restrict you from spending time for yourself

    Asked by kornel on 25 Feb 2026.
    • Photo: Stephen Raggett-Batchen

      Stephen Raggett-Batchen answered on 25 Feb 2026:

      I am quite fortunate that my job means that I can still make time for myself – as a consulting engineer. There are times where I may have to work a nightshift, or over a weekend – especially when we are working on a rail project. However, contractors in the sector will usually have a lot more remote on site working, and weekends, as they construct the designs we typically create for them.

    • Photo: Amrit Phull

      Amrit Phull answered on 25 Feb 2026:

      I think work-life balance is really important, so I try very hard to switch off when I leave work. I find that I can come home and get lots of time in the evening to do fun things – even more than I did at school because there’s no horrible homework to think about. Sometimes I have to be in work late or at the weekend, but then you get paid a little bit extra or get an extra day off to make up for it! I still do loads of swimming, walking, knitting, music etc now that I’m working 🙂

    • Photo: Caroline Ratcliffe

      Caroline Ratcliffe answered on 25 Feb 2026:

      What a fantastic question! Luckily my job is extremely flexible and I am responsible for managing my work load. Work-life balance is so important to my health and wellbeing that I make sure I have down time booked in for myself so I can enjoy life to the fullest.

      This might mean if I have a big long meeting in the morning, I will take a longer lunch break so I can take my two dogs out for a walk or if I am doing a lot of travel, I may book myself into a spa for a pamper afterwards.

    • Photo: Luke Humphrey

      Luke Humphrey answered on 2 Mar 2026: last edited 2 Mar 2026 10:08 AM

      Great question. As a relatively self-disciplined neurodivergent person, I would rate the work life of the various jobs I’ve had like this (best at the top, worst at the bottom):

      1. University student, studying physics
      2. Current job, computational engineer
      3. Previous job (at the same company), graduate software engineer
      4. College (6th Form) Student
      5. University student, studying history
      6. Summer internship at a school outreach group
      7. Retail worker, back of house
      8. Retail worker, front of house
      9. Primary School
      10. Secondary School

      I tend to measure things not in time, but “spoons” (search “spoon theory autism / ADHD” to see what I mean). For me, the jobs that have the best balance are those that let me retain spoons to enjoy my time outside of work. For school and retail jobs, it’s very demanding to accommodate neurotypical society for a full day which often left me too drained to do anything but rest. Retail was more demanding than school while at work, because I enjoyed the subjects in school, but I think because of homework I would rate it as the worst time in my life overall, at least with a retail job you can totally disconnect afterwards; that’s important.

      At the top, we have jobs that let me set my own timetable and do a lot of work independently on my own terms in my own controlled environment. My current job is very good for that, because I work from home and my performance is based on output rather than time, but since I still need to attend meetings at set times and have more responsibilities, I think I would slightly rate my university time as having a better work life balance, but only slightly. My history degree is rated lower because there was too much reading for me to keep up with.

      Another aspect to consider is that when you’re spending a lot of your time learning & developing, that is exhausting in itself. Be kind to yourself and know that you can’t do everything. For me, my 20s ended up being a time where I had to put a lot of my hobbies on hold just to focus on starting my career, but now I’ve got an established skillset and a productive stable(ish) routine. I’m starting to get enough of a work / life balance back in my early 30s to get back into hobbies again. This is really important to quality of life and mental health so you should be proud of yourself for asking this question, especially when many pressures in life will tell you to only value money or prestige.

      Also, learn to say “no” to things; it’s a good skill.

    • Photo: Stefani Duncan

      Stefani Duncan answered on 2 Mar 2026:

      Not particularly! I am fortunate that I work for a company that allows hybrid working, so I can tailor my working time around my life.

      For example, I had to take my dog to the vet today so I just had a longer lunch break.

      I typically try to work later some days to finish up early on a Friday.

    • Photo: Steve Potterill

      Steve Potterill answered on 3 Mar 2026:

      It has been different in different roles. My early career meant more (mostly inflexible) time at work, and more recently I’ve had flexibility (of where and when I work).

      Certainly everyone needs (to varying extents, and also dependent upon family demands as you get older), some time to be away from work, be alone, be with friends outside work, be with family, get away from it all on holiday. However, if you enjoy your work and life within it (particularly when you’re in your 20s) then you don’t necessarily need so much outside time ‘for yourself’.

      For example, when I was in my 20s I had a very demanding career in the Royal Air Force – I certianly worked more than 40 hours per week on my primary role. But, it was a ‘work hard, play hard’ environment. There were lots of opportunities to do non-primary-job activities with work, and with other people from work, (socials, sports, clubs, adventurous training and expeditions) that I was happy even to sacrifice going on holiday to do sport and expeditions with the RAF.

      (I’m not trying to say I was the hardest worker ever (compared with some colleagues, I wasn’t) – I’m just trying to show that sometimes full immersion in the work environment can be satisfying fulfilling, and that ‘time for yourself’ needn’t necessarily be a primary aim).

    • Photo: Sophie Pain

      Sophie Pain answered on 6 Mar 2026:

      Having a good work life balance is really important, and so I try to switch off when I’m outside of work. Sometimes there are busy periods where I have to work longer, but overall it tends to balance out. I find my work interesting, so it would be easy to keep working until I figure out the answer to a certain problem, but I know that having breaks is really important, so I try to make myself turn my laptop at a certain time!

      I’m able to choose the hours I work. I normally work 8-4, so I have lots of time in the evening to relax and do other fun things! I also don’t have my emails/work messages on my phone, which helps have a clear separation between work and the rest of my life.

    • Photo: Olivia Williams

      Olivia Williams answered on 10 Mar 2026:

      I am very fortunate because I have a certain level of control over my working hours. However this can go both ways and I sometimes work too much! I am really trying to make an effort of sticking to set work hours and having a set work location to really help me switch off after a work day and do what I enjoy/ helps me recharge 🙂 If I have to work some extra I’ll make an effort to get that time back elsewhere.

Comments

  • Photo: Alex Hunt

    Alex Hunt commented on :

    Most of the time, my work as a civil engineer does not interfere with my ability to make time for myself any more than any other full time job. Occasionally, there will be times when important deadlines mean I need to work later than usual, or I need to visit a site whilst a road is closed overnight, but generally my working hours are normal full time office hours. Most jobs in this industry also come with a greater degree of flexibility than they used to, such as being able to work some days from home or occasionally change your normal working hours to make time for important occasions.