The expression "work-life balance" was first used in the
late 1970s to describe
the balance between an individual's professional and personal life.
(New Ways to Work and the Working Mother's Association in the
UK). In the US, this phrase was first used in 1986.
According to Jim Bird, CEO of worklifebalance.com, work-life
balance is meaningful achievement and enjoyment in everyday life.
Work-life balance does not mean equal balance between work and
personal life. It is the happy medium between the minimum and maximum.
There cannot be a universal standard for application of work-life balance.
It is person specific and very often balance itself is a dynamic
equilibrium and changes over time.
At the dawn of the IT revolution, it was thought that there would
be increased leisure and marked improvements in the quality of
life, while in reality, the logic has actually been turned on its head.
Many youngsters are experiencing early burnout due to overwork and
increased stress. This condition is seen in nearly all occupations—from
blue collar workers to the top management. Over the past decade, rise
in workplace violence, increase in attrition as well as rise in claims,
due to health disorders are all evidences of an unhealthy work-life balance.
Although there has been a substantial increase in incomes and
material possessions in the last decade, these tangibles have come at
the cost of the intangibles. It is not uncommon to find employees at
all levels, who have not taken a vacation for years and who couldn't
make it to important family events/celebrations. Worse still is the
increase in the number of cases of physical and mental illnesses and of
broken homes. |
