Creative Work-life Balance (BalanCed)

The project introduces an innovative and integrated service to the local community - its aim is to strengthen and enrich human resources through art. In supporting individuals to balance their professional and personal lives, it focuses on strengthening internal factors, such as coping skills, efficiency, problem-solving and interpersonal skills. An empowered individual manages his or her life more efficiently and knows how to take advantage of a company's external measures to achieve the reconciliation of life spheres, which is successfully supported in Slovenia by the Family-Friendly Company Certificate project. The specific goals of the project are to establish a Creative Center that would work as support environment for employees, to provide quality care for minors by teaching them about sustainability topics, and to provide support to employees, employers and mentors in work organizations. Local environment lacks measures that help strengthen abovementioned internal factors, which also involves prevention in the field of mental health. Mental health, which underlies health and well-being in general, importantly shapes social and economic stability, social well-being and has a significant impact on the quality of life. In local environment, care for quality free time is supported by the sports infrastructure, while creative activities and dealing with art, which are known for beneficial effects in terms of improving life management competences and balancing the spheres of life, are neglected. Creativity competence is recognized as the key future competence. The project takes a holistic approach to tackling the challenges, supports the establishment of a Creative Center, fosters sustainability through equipping the center with repurposed furniture, enables participants to engage in creative activities and handicrafts, and teaches about reuse based on knowledge about the positive impact of art on mental health.