I’ll be honest: “work-life balance” as a phrase disproportionately annoys me.
To me, the language feels somewhat othering – as if we keep our work and everything else separate, like spinning plates.
Work/life is rooted in the predictable routines of 1800’s factories, where shifts literally separated what you do for work and what you do elsewhere.
Transactional – often repetitive – tasks were the norm and the clock divided the day.
In this old world, you couldn’t achieve your personal/life goals whilst you were working on company goals. “You work for the company, and you’re ours from 06:00 to 18:00” etc.
Today, our roles are rarely repetitive. We rarely work the exact clock-in/out times each day.
So why do we cling to old tropes?
Here’s the kicker: Companies that actively find ways for their employees to consolidate work/life instead of simply balancing it are more successful. (They also tend to pay more, too)
Just as the 1800’s factories that spawned it are almost obsolete, let’s make balancing work/life a thing of the past too.
