How we talk about issues makes a difference.
Notice that coining that term they didn’t call it “work-home balance” or “work-family balance.” By the ’70s and ’80s, when the work-life movement gained momentum, they had already taken it for granted that they didn’t want to go to work.
So much so, that they didn’t even think of work as life!
Isn’t work an integral part of life?
If we are not alive at work what are we then?
Balance implies that there is always a winner and a loser.
An either-or and never an and.
Balancing acts sound like a delicate undertaking that hardly lasts. One side will always dominate.
There is no equilibrium to be gained!
Work-life balance, while nice in theory, is purely a myth!
But when we think of work as part of a full life and a holistic experience, it becomes easier to see that success in one aspect often supports another.
Let’s shift our perspective. If we treat our lives at work as a separate entity, we will find ourselves going through the motions and missing out on some of life’s best experiences.
So, my advice to you is … don’t separate it.
Work is life.
Life is work.
It’s all life.
Life is all-encompassing, it does not pause for the 8 or 10 hours a day that you are working.
Cheers to worklife* harmony.
A term and concept that fits much better to what the majority of us are striving for.
Let’s stop striving for that mythical work-life balance and getting disappointing when we don’t manage to get our work-life into balance.
Instead, let’s strive for worklife harmony which is whatever each of us wants it to be and thus is solely within our own power to achieve.
The harmony part also means harmonizing with those you care about. Strengthening relationships in the face of ever-increasing work demands involves redefining what success really is for you.
In the end, it’s a choice. It’s your choice.
Worklife harmony isn’t something you find, it is something you create, and you’ll never find it on the outside until you feel it on the inside.
I wish I had a more clever solution for you, but it really boils down to that.
*without any ‘-‘ or ‘/’ separating work and life because they can’t be separated.
I disagree with this article.
Work/life balance doesn’t mean to have work and life completely separated and balanced equally but to be able have and enjoy time outside of work at a healty dosage.
Work life harmony seems more like a ploy by corporate to get people to work more outside normal work hours. Work is not life. Work is apart of life and should be treated as such. People need to be able to relax and enjoy life outside of work or else they can end up running themselves to the ground.
I concur with your last sentence. And would that be the responsibility of the employer or the employee in your opinion?
Hi Andy, my best friend told me the same thing. if you keep wanting to separate work and life, you end up being more frustrated.
Balancing is by definition not an easy task. Especially not one we can be fully in control of.
And thanks for dropping by Kyith.