Work-Life Balance, A Myth?
Tags: Work, Balance, Work Life Balance, Life Balance, Education

Work-Life Balance, A Myth?

You don’t have to agree or disagree, it is how you look at it.

Source: Bing

According to a report published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2019, over 12 million days were lost to work-related stress, anxiety or depression in 2018/2019. That is 21 days per case reported in that period.

A Mental Health Foundation survey found that more than 40% of employees are neglecting other aspects of their lives because of work, which may increase their vulnerability to mental health problems. They also found that as a person’s work weekly hours increase so do their feelings of unhappiness.

If anything, the current situation is shining a spotlight on the importance of looking after ourselves physically, emotionally and mentally in order to ward off the disease as well as fulfil our purpose.

There is no doubt that the way we work affects how well and how long we live.

If work-life balance is so important, why is it so evasive?

If you have ever wondered what work-life balance means for you, fret not you are not alone. Work-life balance is a buzz term that has been circulating for some time now. The sound of the word conjure up a vision of tying up all the loose ends of our projects at work and then spending the desired amount of time on exercising, building relationships, self-care and hobbies. We envision this 50/50 perfect balance of ‘life and work’.

The issue is that the concept of balancing life and work subtly connotes work is negative, in enmity with our lives and need to be counteracted. It paints a picture of life and work being separate entities that need to be balanced. But this could not be further from the truth. Work is a big PART of our lives, we spend a third of our days at work.

Our lives consist of meetings, presentations, shopping, changing diapers, replying to emails, chauffeuring kids to school, doing laundry, meeting friends for coffee, you get the idea. When we do these activities, and the way we structure them might differ, but they are all part of our lives.

Even if you are not extremely passionate about your job, you spend a lot of time at work. Work is not a negative thing in and of itself. Since the dawn of time, humans have worked and work is not going away anytime soon (the type of work we do may vary but there will always be an endeavour that we work at).

Without work we will be bored and boredom is not good for anyone-an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.

The term work-life balance was first used in the UK in the 80s by Women’s Liberation Movement who advocated for flexible work schedule and maternity leave for women. Since then the term has been evolving and continues to do so.

There are many ongoing debates about work-life balance- what it is, what it’s not and whose responsibility it is to implement.

Source: Bing

Collins dictionary defines balance as a situation in which all the different parts are equal in strength and importance. Thinking of work-life balance in this way, as if everything has to be equal causes problems (there aren’t enough hours in the week to spend 37.5 hours on each element of your life). Maybe a better term is ‘Life Balance’ — meaning all the different elements in your life are in the right proportion and receive appropriate attention.