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Finding a healthy balance between work and home life is tough enough, but when you work for a family business and your colleagues are your kin, it can require a sense of coordination worthy of a high-wire circus act.

But striking a balance is not impossible, and can make a family business even more enjoyable and fulfilling, according to a 2009 study of family business owners, FamilyPreneurship(SM): What Every Entrepreneur Wants to Know About Being in Business with a Family Member, by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual).

While a family business has many advantages – such as being your own boss and scheduling flexibility – respondents to the survey also say owning a family business can lead to more stress (44 percent) and can mean that you never take a day off (39 percent). The survey, commissioned by MassMutual and conducted by Harris Interactive, occurred in two-parts among six focus groups of small business partners and online among 518 business owners.

“Business always comes home. Yes, it always does,” said one woman who is part of a husband-and-wife retail lawn equipment business.

As a result, 56 percent of owners are constantly trying to improve their work-life balance, according to the survey,

“We may be lying in bed, and I just say ‘You know what?…Enough about work already. I don’t want to hear it,’” said one half of a husband-and-wife food service equipment business.
According to the survey, 44 percent of family business owners always or often discuss work at home, and 28 percent always or often discuss home life at work. Nevertheless, surprisingly few find it to be a concern. Sixty percent say their discussions of work at home rarely or never cause problems, while 75 percent say discussing home at work presents no difficulties.

Achieving a healthy balance depends on several factors, according to survey respondents, and three important ones are:
Good communication;
Creating time for fun outside of work; and
Respecting each other.

SOURCE MassMutual