Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is a concept that seeks to harmonize the demands of professional work with personal life and family responsibilities. Emerging prominently in the late twentieth century, it reflects changing societal norms as workers strive to avoid the encroachment of work into their personal time, a challenge exacerbated by technological advancements that allow work to be conducted anywhere. Historically, achieving a balance between work and leisure became possible after the Industrial Revolution, which introduced leisure time for many, thanks to labor movements advocating for regulated work hours. However, as demands on workers have intensified, particularly with stagnant wages and the pressures of modern economies, the struggle to maintain this balance has grown.

Increasingly, job roles vary significantly in their demands, with some professions requiring more intense dedication than others, such as healthcare compared to information management. Despite some benefits of technology, like remote meetings, it often leads to a culture of "constant connection," where individuals feel compelled to remain available outside of traditional working hours. This can contribute to stress and burnout, negatively impacting personal health and relationships. As people grapple with these challenges, the importance of establishing boundaries and fostering a supportive work environment becomes critical for achieving a sustainable work-life balance.

Published in: 2021

By:

Subject Terms

Work-Life Balance

Abstract

Work-life balance is a concept that gained in popularity in the late twentieth century. It refers to the attempt to prevent work from taking over one’s personal life. Workers are putting in longer hours and also working from home and on the weekends to keep up with a heavy workload, as technology, such as cell phones, computers, and the internet, has brought new devices that allow people to work in more places, and as globalization has increased competition in many industries.

Overview

The need to strike a balance between the demands of work and those of family and personal pursuits is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating from the nineteenth century, when the Industrial Revolution and a variety of technological advances made it possible for people to have such a thing as leisure time outside work. Before this time, most of the world’s population spent the majority of its time working to acquire the resources needed to survive. Concerns over how to spend one’s free time and how best to parent one’s children were largely nonexistent because the need to survive dominated. This changed as technology made it possible for workers to accomplish more with less effort, and as labor movements pushed for limits on the amount of work employers could legally require employees to perform within a given time.

Labor victories such as the eight-hour workday and the forty-hour workweek meant that for the first time large numbers of people had time for pursuing their own interests outside work, and for exercising their own discretion about family activities and parenting practices. People quickly became used to this situation, and came to expect that their work would only occupy a reasonable portion of their time. However, technology continued to advance and the economic trend toward modernization accelerated. Work gradually began to take up more and more of people’s time and attention, as people struggled to stay current with their colleagues to remain relevant in their professions and to be able to continue their career advancement.

These historical trends only become stronger with the passage of time. In the modern economy, inflation has risen steadily for several decades while real wages—a measure of the actual buying power of money—have for the most part remained stagnant. For the average worker, this means that each year one must work harder and for longer hours just to keep one’s head above water. In response to this pressure, households that once were able to live comfortably on a single income have reached the point where two incomes are necessary, which usually means that both spouses work or that one spouse has more than one job (Smeltzer et al., 2016).

With more of a family’s time being devoted to work, there is less time for family leisure activities that promote bonding, less time for caring for children (leading to increasing numbers of “latchkey children” and greater dependence on day care and afterschool programs), and less time for the rest and relaxation that is necessary if people are to recover from the demands of work, to maintain their health, and to continue to function at their best. For these reasons and many others, interest in attaining a balance between work and private life is high and expected to remain so. This is true across a variety of occupations, even though some fields are much more demanding than others. For example, physicians have many more urgent expectations pertaining to their availability than do librarians, so work-life balance means something different to a doctor than it would to a person managing information in a library (Thornton, 2016).

Ironically, one of the most powerful forces that is eroding work-life balance, technology, also was responsible for helping people to have free time in the first place. Technology such as manufacturing machinery and assembly-line production made it possible for workers to accomplish more in less time, creating the space for leisure. Now, however, advanced communications technology, such as the internet and virtualization software, has reached the point where telecommuting is virtually identical to working face to face (Beauregard, 2014).

One might think that this would be a boon to those striving for work-life balance, and it is true that there are some advantages; for example, instead of a sales agent needing to fly across the country to meet with a client for an update on the client’s account (a trip that could take several days and would use up valuable time that the agent could otherwise spend on other tasks or on family activities), the agent can instead arrange an online meeting or videoconference, which will save both time and money. Yet advantages such as this one may be outweighed by the “dark” side of telecommuting, sometimes referred to as “constant connection.” Additionally, some researchers have pointed out other "dark" sides to work-life balance policies, such as the loss of connection between employees who take advantage of working remotely and telecommuting or employees, both women and men, facing possible resentment or judgment in the workplace for taking longer maternity leaves or paternity leaves (Perrigino, Dunford, & Wilson, 2018).

The mainstay of professional communication in the modern world is not the paper memo or even the fax, but email, and people are able to access their email from anywhere that they have an internet connection, using computers or cell phones (Mazerolle & Eason, 2016). This makes it possible to respond quickly to emergencies instead of having to wait to get back to the physical office. This connectivity also has the unintended consequence of encouraging people to turn their attention to work issues even when they are not “at work” and when no emergency demands their attention.

In the constant drive to respond quickly to increase efficiency and to reduce or eliminate delays in service, people have gradually conditioned themselves to remain available for the demands of work. When one could be enjoying a vacation, playing with one’s children, or spending valuable time with one’s spouse, a part of one’s attention is constantly focused on the need to check work-related messages. This detracts from one’s enjoyment of leisure time, and in the long run can have a negative effect on one’s health and personal relationships (Lester, 2015). Because the lure of staying connected feeds into one’s self-esteem, strengthening the feeling that one is important enough to require constant availability, leaving one’s work in the office can be extremely challenging.

Some people find it necessary to establish strict rules to regulate their own behavior and help them resist the temptation to check their messages. Families sometimes have a special drawer or cabinet into which each person deposits his or her phone upon arriving home, so that they can enjoy one another’s company without interruption. Even some employers have joined in this trend by configuring their email systems to stop delivering or sending messages at the end of the business day, instead queuing the messages for when the business reopens the following morning.

The number of firms that have taken this step is still small, but these companies have determined that the cost of constant connection, in terms of reduced employee morale, increased chances of burnout, and more frequent incidents in which communications go awry because people fail to take the time to properly consider their words, far outweighs any benefits that may come from their employees remaining plugged into the office (Finnegan & Ferron, 2015). Some researchers have studied whether there is a link between how leaders at a company perceive and maintain a work-life balance and how their employees see the concept. It has generally been found that if a superior or manager projects a positive outlook on balancing work demands and private lives, their employees will be more motivated to do the same (Braun and Peus, 2018).

Further Insights

Much of the effort that goes into research regarding how best to maintain work-life balance has come in response to medical advances that have brought new insights about how the body, brain, and mind work together, and how all three are affected by stress and fatigue over the short and long term. The human body is designed to respond to stressful situations in ways calculated to increase the chances of survival against physical threats such as hungry predators, so when a threat is detected, various chemicals, such as adrenaline, are produced by the body.

Adrenaline increases the heart rate and blood pressure and allows one to move and act quickly. The problem is that the body is not designed to tell the difference between a physical threat to one’s life and a less immediate threat to one’s career, for example. This is why, when one feels stressed or attacked in the workplace, one can have physiological responses that closely mirror those that would be expected with physical danger. The body thinks that an attack is imminent, so it responds in a way that is meant to help one escape the danger (Richards, 2016).

The problem is that the body’s responses to stress are designed to work in the short term—usually no more than a few moments. However, the modern work environment can cause people to feel enough stress and fatigue to trigger these responses off and on all day long. Over time, this has a negative effect on the body, an effect that is exacerbated if one does not periodically remove the sources of the stress, as tends to happen with people who have difficulty “unplugging” from work.

Employees who do not easily unplug tend to work long hours, and even when they are not at work they are thinking about work or checking messages related to work, and all of these activities cause them to remain connected to their primary sources of stress, leaving the body and mind in a perpetual state of guardedness and fear. This takes a heavy toll on one’s health, just as would happen if one exercised all day long, every day, without proper rest and nutrition. The result is that the body becomes weaker and more susceptible to strokes, heart attacks, and other stress-related illnesses. Research has even shown that stress and the inability to disconnect from work and enjoy life can weaken the immune system, leading to a greater chance of contracting other types of illnesses (Gabler & Hill, 2015).

Issues

Failing to achieve work-life balance has major implications for a person’s interpersonal relationships, particularly with close family members. When a person spends too much time engaged in work, that person is not the only one who suffers. Children and spouses miss out on valuable time with the workaholic in their lives, and ultimately may feel that, next to the demands of the workplace, their own needs do not matter much because they are so often given lower priority.

This is not to say that workaholics consciously believe that their friends and family matter less than their work does; usually, a workaholic feels that the whole reason he or she devotes so much time to work is to support loved ones financially and to maintain one’s status in the eyes of friends and others in the community. Rather than wishing to inflict emotional suffering on loved ones, a workaholic will feel that he or she is in an impossible position, needing to simultaneously satisfy the needs of the workplace and those of the personal life.

All too often, workaholics feel that they must sacrifice the personal to satisfy the professional, because the professional world—at least in their understanding of it—is far less forgiving of oversights than is one’s personal world of close connections. For a while, this works—one’s intimate circle understands that sometimes work simply needs to get done. Eventually, however, even the most faithful of allies will begin to question the workaholic’s priorities, or even give up hope of ever being able to connect with the workaholic.

Indeed, therapists and others who work with those who struggle to find work-life balance face a daunting task. Often, workaholics have layers of assumptions about themselves and their careers that must be unpacked, examined, and either discarded or reevaluated. Part of attaining a work-life balance is understanding that one need not be perfect at work, at least not all of the time, because no one can always be at the top of their game.

Making room for imperfection in the workplace can go a long way toward helping people think about where they spend their time, how they spend it, and whether or not this makes them happy. Those who take the time to stop and ask these questions, difficult as they may be, are luckier by far than those who do not see their own imbalanced lives until it is too late and they find themselves alone, suffering from stress-related ailments, and still stressed out and miserable.

Terms & Concepts

Burnout: Burnout is a state in which one is no longer able to function effectively or maintain motivation, brought on by overwork. One of the goals of maintaining healthy work-life balance is to avoid burnout or to recover from burnout.

Double Burden: A double burden occurs when a person is expected to perform his or her duties at work and also to perform domestic duties such as cooking, cleaning, and child care. This creates a great deal of stress, particularly because the domestic work is almost always unpaid, and presents an issue of inequity since women are much more likely than men to carry a double burden.

Presenteeism: Presenteeism is a neologism that is intended to be the opposite of absenteeism. Absenteeism describes a person who is chronically absent from work, regardless of the reason, to the point that corrective action or even termination may be necessary. Presenteeism, on the other hand, describes someone who is present at the office too much, even coming to work when ill. This can lead to burnout and can have a negative effect on other employees, particularly if a person with a contagious illness insists on showing up at the office and winds up spreading the disease to others.

Psychoneuroimmunology: Psychoneuroimmunology studies the ways in which mental states can influence physical health, in particular the functions of the immune system, whose job it is to protect one from disease. Many people experience adverse health consequences due to their lack of work-life balance, because they work too hard and for too many hours, and under too much stress. This weakens the immune system and makes one more vulnerable to infections and other forms of illness.

Telecommuting: Telecommuting is the use of technology to perform one’s work remotely, whether from home or from another location distant from one’s normal workplace. Computers, cell phones, and the internet make it possible to attend meetings, make and receive phone calls, and perform most other office work regardless of where one is physically located. While this allows workers to be much more flexible, the downside of telecommuting is that it makes it more difficult for some people to set aside their work, since they always have access to it.

Workaholic: A workaholic is a person who feels addicted to work, in the same way that an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol. While not an officially recognized medical condition, being a workaholic is a description that is often applied to people who seem to be unable to limit the time they spend at work and the amount of attention they devote to work issues even when they are not physically in the office.

Bibliography

Beauregard, T. A. (2014). Fairness perceptions of work-life balance initiatives: Effects on Counterproductive Work Behaviour. British Journal of Management, (4), 772. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=98603475&site=ehost-live

Braun, S., & Peus, C. (2018). Crossover of work-life balance perceptions: Does authentic leadership matter? Journal of Business Ethics, 149(4), 875–893. Retrieved October 17, 2018, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=129833774&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Finnegan, K. O., & Ferron, L. (2015). Helping the Sandwich Generation find work-life balance. Wound Care Advisor, 4(1), 31–34.

Gabler, C. B., & Hill, R. P. (2015). Abusive supervision, distributive justice, and work-life balance: Perspectives from salespeople and managers. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 35(3), 247–261. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=109442675&site=ehost-live

Humpert, S. (2014). Working time, satisfaction and work life balance: A European perspective. SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, 64(4), 3–17.

Lester, J. (2015). Cultures of work-life balance in higher education: A case of fragmentation. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 8(3), 139–156.

Mazerolle, S., & Eason, C. (2016). A longitudinal examination of work-life balance in the collegiate setting. Journal of Athletic Training, 51(3), 223–232.

Perrigino, M. B., Dunford, B. B., & Wilson, K. S. (2018). Work–family backlash: The “dark side” of work–life balance (WLB) policies. Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), 600–630. Retrieved October 17, 2018, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=130237924&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Richards, K. (2016). The Urgency of Creating a Culture of Caring: Start with You! Nursing Economic$, 34(3), 152–155.

Smeltzer, S. C., Cantrell, M. A., Sharts-Hopko, N. C., Heverly, M. A., Jenkinson, A., & Nthenge, S. (2016). Psychometric analysis of the work/life balance self-assessment scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 24(1), 5–14.

Thornton, M. (2016). The flexible Cyborg: Work-life balance in legal practice. Sydney Law Review, The, 38(1), 1.

Work-Life Balance

On this Page

Subject Terms

Work-Life Balance

Abstract

Overview

Further Insights

Issues

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

Suggested Reading