China’s rapid growth demands hard driving work ethics from companies to stay competitive. Common expectations of six day office hours plus post-dinner client meetings push managers to overdrive. Despite technology improvements allowing remote work flexibility, core business hours remain fairly rigid. What results is relentless schedules that strain personal wellbeing and family bonds over time.
While wanting to demonstrate tireless commitment, foreign managers also require coping methods to counteract eventual burnout. Utilizing the following tips allows for sustaining energy and morale amid a breakneck environment.
Set Daily Personal Time Boundaries
Getting overwhelmed starts from losing grip on work-life segmentation. Successful foreign managers in China strictly guard their morning rituals before the onslaught begins. Savoring a calm wake-up with responsive me-time energizes you before facing barrage of meetings. Whether reading, exercising or enjoying a hearty breakfast, create space for resetting your mindset first.
Similarly buffering the end of your workday instead of cranking on tasks until passing out allows some restfulness. Disconnecting from email and calls an hour before bedtime gives your brain some cool down relief. Little daily course adjustments keep hectic weeks from veering drastically off-balance.
Schedule Holiday and Home Leave Quarterly
China offers two 7-day Golden Week national holidays annually plus 15-25 paid time off days at most foreign companies. Diligently plotting these restorative breaks every quarter prevents endlessly postponing time away as deadlines hit. Regular change of scenery, even short local trips, liberates creativity and motivation.
Longer bouts of home leave should also get allocated for annually recharging deeper roots with overseas family and friends. This outside immersion sparks helpful perspective about priorities and progress upon returning. Firms investing in manager health through generous vacation policies enjoy higher talent retention and fuller productivity long-term.
Find Weekend Release Valves
The Monday-Friday churn leaves minimal windows for escaping pressures and reflecting clearly. Saturday offers a prime chance to meaningfully detach before Sunday pre-work anxiety encroaches again.
foreign managers staying balanced commit to weekly hobby or passion pursuits without guilt. Rotating between rejuvenating sports like cycling or swimming, artistic interests like guitar lessons, or leisure trips near your base city gives that critical outlet. Classifying these as untouchable appointments protects against office overreach chewing up restorative time.
Set Tech-Life Boundaries
24/7 connectivity erodes natural transition buffers that signal mind and body to unwind. foreign managers frequently getting work calls or emails after regular hours soon experience burnout symptoms. Establish guidelines where meetings and notifications get restricted to core business hours except for occasional urgent requests.
Set email away messages for periods when you cannot respond promptly so expectations stay clear. Disabling non-critical message notifications after typical end times and disabling work accounts from phones over weekends or vacations also helps you detach fully. Guilt-free disengagement sustains energy and outlook to tackle demanding roles.
Prioritizing Routine Wellbeing
Beyond attempting heroic measures to find work-life equilibrium when overly strained, building little lifestyle advantages gradually pays off through greater resilience handling volatility. Committing to wholesome eating, restful sleep, supportive relationships and purposeful side interests makes balancing act less precarious. Savvy foreign managers in China play long game of accumulating personal assets rather than living off reserves that eventually bankrupt.