Episode 9, Work-Life Balance
The topic of this week is centred around work-life balance. It is an important concept, but unfortunately it became one of the most inflationary used phrases in the context of our jobs. Let us take this as an opportunity to clear things up!
The average amount of working hours per week did not change significantly since World War II. It ranged somewhere between 40-45 hours (link to source (Abre numa nova janela)). Nevertheless, production increased significantly. It takes an average person about 11 hours/week to do what a person in the 1950s needed a full work week to do (link to source (Abre numa nova janela)). This increase in productivity due to advancements in the technology came along with more rights and freedom for all working people. The prominent slogan for this development is work-life balance. Work-life balance is an appeal with two directions. The first one aims towards the outside world and demands fair salary or the opportunity to one or two days per week from home (when your job allows you to make use of this privilege). The second one aims to ourselves. We are supposed to ask ourselves if the amount of time and energy we are investing in our jobs equals the outcome that we get. I think it is important to underline that “outcome” is not limited to salary. It may very well be any other kind of reward such as a deep satisfaction, social affiliation etc. There is a time in life for every job. A friend of mine is working as a consultant. He works about 50-60 hours per week and barely is home at all. This is fine as long as you just have to take care of yourself but it may become problematic once you are married or have children. This is why the concept of work-life balance is important: to constantly remind ourselves to ask whether my current situation of work fits to my personal and private life.
There is one thing that I disagree with, i.e. bringing the concept out of balance. I made the experience that the young generation joining the labour market oftentimes (not all of them!) have the understanding that work-life balance aims to provide people with as much free as possible. There is a new level of demanding things such as unlimited home office days or a sabbatical after two years of working. I think this goes beyond what a society can afford in the long run. We should not live off the wealth our grandparents and parents built. Let me know your thoughts on this Gen Z topic!
Visit Midlife Man (Abre numa nova janela) to read all previously published episodes.
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