Work Life Balance – A Myth

Work hard and play hard. Is this maxim applicable in today's fast paced life? Is there a perfect balance in life? Activities undertaken mostly for pursuit of money and success (Happiness!) The percentage of persons working is increasing leading to the children being at home with Maid/Grandparents or Crèche, Hostel. Conflicting demands of home life and work life play havoc with our lives rendering terms like “QWL” and “Quality Time for Family/Family First defunct. Many experts predicted that technology would eliminate most household chores and provide people with much more time to enjoy leisure activities; but consumerist culture that has "elevated the work ethic to unprecedented heights and thereby reinforced the low value and worth attached to parenting". What is Ideal balance 50–50 or 60 – 40 or 70 – 30??? Dynamic Seesaw leading to Compromises resulting in Tension, Stress, Breakdown, Collapse, Nervous, Disorder, Depression. Where is Laugh quotient-Happiness quotient? What is the Reality? Extended family concept is followed by very few corporate/business houses and the Defence Forces really adopt it in the right earnest. We must remember that for anything well done, Both Time and Effort are necessary. Statistics reveal that50% of employed people find arranging time “Off –Work” as difficult. Are better Economic climate and the Rat Race the Key factors or we have lost the meaning of Satisfaction/Self Contentment. At the individual (family) as well as the corporate (office) level does a balance exist or is it a fallacy, a myth or a Utopian concept. Its essential that we do introspection, identify, analyses and then pursue the right mix. This is the “Success Mantra” in today's context. Observe Analyze and Workout/Devise flexible strategies functioning simultaneously for various categories of employees. Reintroduce Leisure.eg Pilots ATC/restrooms/lounge. Flexible work hours-target or objective linked. Real requirement is for Self-Actualization and seeking Quality Time for both.