Commentary: Let's review our assumptions about work-life balance
SINGAPORE: It's no wonder work-life residue is a commonly discussed topic in mod societies like Singapore.
For one, we're always complaining nearly how "atrocious" our work–life residual is, according to a 2022 survey by bacon benchmarking site Emolument.
Never mind that significant progress has been made through schemes that promote flexible working arrangements in local companies.
In the early on 1990s, "work–life residual" became a popular topic thanks to Juliet Schor's volume The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure. She explored how employment had created such high demands on Americans that there had been a sharp pass up in the quality of their life due to a lack of leisure fourth dimension.
Most Singaporeans would concur that the situation is non any different today. In fact, the current talk in Singapore is that work-life remainder is at best an ideal to strive towards.
At worst, work-life balance is proverbial, elusive and even depressing to call back about
Even so the contend surrounding work-life balance in government, industry and academia frequently occurs without a clear agreement of what information technology is.
Furthermore, various interpretations of work-life balance are based entirely on misconceptions nigh work, life and employee attitudes.
NOT A 50/50 DIVIDE
First, many of us call back of piece of work–life balance as an equal distribution of fourth dimension between piece of work and non-work activities.
This 50/50 approach to assessing work–life balance pits both piece of work and life against one some other.
Information technology also suggests that life every bit a whole is something nosotros can dissever as nosotros wish.
Merely "work" and "life" are rubberband. We are constantly reinforcing or redefining our work-life boundaries in response to our needs, constraints and life phases.
For example, the self-employed (including freelancers and small business owners) are known to work longer hours per week, often working through weekends and fifty-fifty forgoing holidays. Yet in studies involving the self-employed, nigh seemed to exist more satisfied with their work–life residuum than employees property a 9-to-5 role job.
More recently, work-life studies are showing that individuals who seem to "have it all" thrive on a sense of balance rooted in a stiff belief in their own power and daily recovery from work- or life-related stress.
READ: A commentary on why soldiering on at work is bone-headed.
ONE-SIDED Conversation Well-nigh Work
Second, piece of work experiences are oftentimes discussed in a bad lite, such that any interference from work to non-work is jump to be harmful. The conversation surrounding work-life balance remains largely i-sided.
Work is often associated with stress, feet, conflict (with colleagues, supervisors and family unit members) and other negative wellness-related symptoms (including insomnia and heart affliction). Information technology is seen as an activity that intrudes into other non-work spheres (relating to the family unit, social, and community) and reduces an individual's overall well-being.
On the reverse, we derive resources (including psychological, physical, intellectual and monetary gains) from multiple life roles including work. Other than budgetary benefits from work that are needed to sustain livelihood, all of u.s.a. experience satisfaction, fulfilment, a sense of purpose, skill and cognition enhancements from our piece of work.
As a result, we are better able to cope with the demands and challenges arising from other not-work spheres. We also feel happier, more than optimistic and confident.
Such a phenomenon is called "piece of work-to-family enrichment". Its positive bear upon on employees' well-being and life satisfaction has been proven in many studies.
READ: A commentary on being a outset-rate subordinate.
Work AND LIFE SHOULD BE SEPARATED
The other common misconception is that piece of work and life should be separated.
The platonic of compartmentalising our piece of work and non-work spheres may sound appealing in a self-help book, simply we all know reality is much more fluid.
Dual earner couples are now the norm in Singapore. The older norms of a breadwinner husband and a homemaker wife are fast condign irrelevant.
Equally anyone who has received a call from their kid's schoolhouse during work hours knows, the barrier between our professional person and domestic spheres now resembles a door more than a wall.
Individuals no longer make a strict or marked stardom between work and not-piece of work as they progress through each twenty-four hours. They work when needed, and attend to non-piece of work demands when needed.
With mobile devices, Singaporeans are now able to switch between their work and non-work spheres by making use of flexible working arrangements, where offered by their employers.
NEED TO Go Across Zippo-SUM APPROACH TO WORK-LIFE Residue
Successfully managing the work-life interface has been shown to lead to increased creativity, organisational commitment and well-existence. To achieve this in Singapore, we need to capeesh the complex relationship between work and life.
We demand to go beyond the current cypher-sum approach to piece of work-life remainder.
Work-life remainder is definitely achievable, supported by flexible working arrangements, the strategic apply of mobile devices and realistic work-life balance goals.
The underlying assumptions the current work-life debate draws upon need to exist re-examined. What are the factors contributing to the perceived lack of piece of work-life residual? Is it the time pressure, or the long work hours?
Might it exist that in companies' unending quest for college productivity, the piece of work tempo of employees has actually gotten worse?
Or could it exist that changing consumer behaviour and lifestyle aspirations are driving Singaporeans to work harder to climb the career ladder, sacrificing their non-piece of work priorities in the process?
Some other relevant issue is the gendered partitioning of labour that pervades Singapore, such that married working women continue to contribute more to caregiving and household chores than married working men.
Unfortunately, none of the ongoing debates on work–life balance seem to be discussing these bug.
We demand to start having a conversation on matters more relevant to a balanced work-life, which would enhance Singaporeans' job satisfaction, family satisfaction and life satisfaction.
Carys Chan is assistant professor at RMIT Academy's College of Business organisation. David Cheng is lecturer at the Australian National University's Higher of Business organization and Economics. Justin Field is master organisational development consultant at Oracle and offshoot lecturer at the University of New England'southward Business School.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/commentary-lets-review-our-assumptions-about-work-life-balance-295346
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