Chapters 13 and 14 in the course textbook examine the impact of social roles and professional life on adult development. In our complex world that requires us to manage multiple roles, learning how to effectively balance social roles has become increasingly challenging.

In your responses to two of your classmates state why you agree then, compare and contrast your respective choices of theoretical insights and life practices and offer constructive criticism of their theoretical discussions. Additionally, identify any insights you have gained as a result of reading the responses of others. 

                                                                  DISCUSSION 1 (K.MC.)

Donald Super made an excellent point in his stage theory of vocational development. HE states that work is integral to reaching cognitive and psychosocial potential by offering avenues of pursuit that are consistent with self-concept. And satisfaction in work depends on how well self-identity is promoted. For example, if you think of yourself as a “people person”, you will achieve psychological growth in a position where you view yourself as helping others, as in the field of psychology or social services (Super, 1957,1990). This makes perfect sense to me, since I am in the social work field. I have a feeling of accomplishment and self-satisfaction after helping some of the adolescents that I counsel. When I see that I made a difference in their lives, it in return makes a difference in mine.

John Holland also made a great point when stating that we match our careers with our own interests. For example, a creative person might have a job in art, a social person might be in the education or social work field. I feel that we are all made to do an important job. Our interests and personality help determine our career path.

I have attempted many different professions, and I always come back to helping children in some way shape or form. I have taught, done real estate, banking, and medical work. I never felt satisfaction in any of jobs that did not pertain to me helping people (more specifically children). My maiden last name is Lehrmann, which means “teacher”. I thought that was neat, and just goes to show that we are all born to serve a particular purpose. We can fight our destiny, but in the end, we end up right back where we belong.

In my life I find that I have satisfaction after knowing I made a positive influence in a child’s life. This carries over to my personal life in the sense that while I go home tired and sometimes mentally drained, I still have that personal satisfaction so that I feel accomplished. I also make sure that whether it be 5 minutes or an hour, I take a few minutes each day to do something for myself. By this I mean self-care, which could be reading, doing a face mask, taking a bubble bath, going for a walk. Really anything that helps me recharge at the end of the day helps me keep my work/life balance in order. We must care for ourselves before being able to fully care for anyone else.

Mossler, R. A., & Ziegler, M. (2016). Understanding Development: A Lifespan Perspective. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

                                                                   DISCUSSION 2 A.M.

Identify and summarize what you see as two or three critically important theoretical insights drawn from the textbook readings that explain and inform work/life balance in adult emotional and social development.

Employers are willing to pay more for workers who have completed college because a degree implies that a person has the knowledge, skills, and motivation to improve productivity (BLS,2015;d; Cornevale&Smith2011) work influences how people live, dress, and socially interact. Super acknowledges that work roles cannot be isolated from other goals (Super, 1990). 

Describe and explain one best practice in your life with respect to work/life balance.

After reading the preferred chapters and reflecting on how I balance life and work, well let me tell you it’s not a easy task to do, Yeah I know we all work. Still, some of us have other duties such as kids to tend to, spouse to tend to, housework to do, bills to pay I mean the list goes on and on, but I’m reflecting more on what I do to balance everything and the best practice for me and how I navigate my life. One best practice steps that I follow is drawing a line in the sand meaning not to mix business and pleasure with work know how to divide the two equally; for example, I have a calendar that I go by and on that calendar are my work and school days and anything that needs to be done outside of work like paying bills, running errands, laundry, and store trips are all on a schedule and even though it can be a lot to juggle all these things it can be a little stressful and for that, I set aside some me time  and doing this time I use it to unwind and forget about everything and just mediate and breathe for like an hour this helps me to reset and focus on the task at hand.

Explain how the best practice you have identified is grounded in, or conceptually related to, one or more of the insights you identified from the readings.

I feel my best practice is well grounded and only because I have tested the method and executed it so I know it works and that practice was “Drawing a line in the sand” it just means I distinguish between work and school and my personal life so basically I don’t bring my work home I leave it all in the office and I don’t take my personal life to work so work is work and home is home.

references

Constellation: Mossler, R. A., & Ziegler, M. (2016). Understanding Development: A Lifespan Perspective. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc