Analysis of a meaningless expression
The concept of work-life balance has long been exposed as an expression of the difficult relationship many people have with their work. It describes the problem rather than the solution. The term work-life balance implies that a balance between work and life should be achieved because work is no longer part of life. The formulation Balanced Life would be preferable. This takes into account all the needs of a person appropriately. It thus creates a balance between different areas of life, of which work is an important part. What is a good balance between the different areas of life? How much work can it be, so that life is still in balance? I suspect that many people make a somewhat one-sided attribution of characteristics to two areas. Work stands for strain and hardship which is negative. The non-work or leisure time stands for the pleasant, the positive.
How do I create my own work-life balance?
Of course, a good balance between work and leisure time, between tension and relaxation, is necessary. An imbalance has a negative effect on well-being and health. Nevertheless, I think that many people compensate for experiences in their free time that they do not find at work. The reason is that they don’t like their work. Whereby fun as an often-mentioned prerequisite for a good job does not seem to me to be appropriate. Work can be quite exhausting and demanding. And at the same time, it can bring joy and fulfilment. We spend at least a third of our day at work. Therefore, it is worthwhile to perform an activity that brings satisfaction. Otherwise, no matter how much free time we have, we will not be able to balance our lives. The prerequisite, however, is that we have a job that is based on our needs.