Work-life Balance or Integration?
By CPA Joan Larok
Team Leader of Magister Training Associates
Work-life balance is the ability to optimally create harmony between your work and private life. Work-life balance is important for individuals to have steadiness on the job and private time in a -manner that facilitates health and personal satisfaction. An individual should achieve professional success without negatively impacting productivity or their health or relationships. You know that you have a work-life balanced life when you can make time for the things you have to do, as well as the things you want to do.
How it started
A simple Google search of work-life balance revealed over 2.9 billion results which indicates that it is something of interest to many. No wonder the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) rightly has it here in the 10th edition of the CPA Connect magazine!
The concept of work-life balance dates back to the 1800s manufacturing era, a time when there was a restriction on work hours for women and children. By 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established a 44-hour work week, although professionals such as doctors were assumed to be perennially “on call.”
The Women's Liberation Movement of the 1980s brought work–life balance back to the forefront. To accommodate women in the workforce, flexible work schedules and maternity leave were popularised. Initially, this concept was only for women, who were expected to hold down careers and continue primary management of the family and home. Soon, these benefits and ideas were expanded to encompass professional men and women. The idea that people would want to have a balance between their professional and personal lives, more flexibility in managing their schedule, and presumptively increase satisfaction from work and life became a key concept in the late 20th century.
What does work-life balance mean for you?
Work-life balance means different things depending on your state or stage in life. For a student, it could mean being able to accomplish your studies while being able to have enough rest, play and time for family and friends. For a student and a worker at the same time, it may mean being able to balance the time for studies, work, family and friends. For one who is a student, a worker and a parent, the balancing requirement increases with more responsibilities that increase the demand for your time. For a doctor, it may mean being able to attend to patients, family, studies, the community, and perhaps be able to take a holiday. For a boda boda rider who may be a teacher, it could mean balancing teaching responsibilities, customer needs, and those of the family and friends. Clearly, work-life balance takes on different modes and requirements as one transcends the different life stages.
Does work-life balance exist?
The big question is: Does work-life balance really exist? Is it possible to achieve an equilibrium between work and your private life?
Previously, there was a clear distinction between when work could start and end. There was night and day. A time to rest and a time to work. The natural setting helped to predict with certainty what time to work and what time to stop. This distinction is now blurred with the advancement in technology.
Technology has eroded the parameters we had in place to distinguish the start and end times for work. Today, you can work anywhere and at any time. You do not need to go to the office to access tools and equipment to facilitate your work. You can access your work on computers, laptops and even on your phone. The ability for work to find you where you are creates the expectation and urgency that work must continue whether you are in the office or not.
The concept of work-life balance, therefore, lies in balancing. For work-life balance to be achieved, the effort of stakeholders should apply. There should be agreement that work must start and stop at a certain point. This is not easy in this era where time is being used to beat competition. As such, the concept of work-life integration is emerging, a concept which acknowledges that work-life balance may be an impossibility.
Work-life integration
Work-life integration means finding a healthy way to allow all the elements of work and life to coexist harmoniously. It is not only the role of employers or human resources to determine this but the employees as well.
Let me share a personal story. When I got a call from ICPAU to write this article on work-life balance, I pondered over the fact that I have been working from home for over three years now and only leave home if I need to meet clients or when I need to do some work for clients at their premises or at an agreed venue. Essentially, I can do most of the work my clients need from home. The day I got the call for an article, I had an appointment to meet an auditor at 11:00 a.m. I needed 3-5 minutes to drive to the venue. Fifteen minutes before the appointment, I got into the car and it failed to start. I knew immediately that I would not make it in time for the meeting. I phoned my husband who said he could drop me at the venue in twenty minutes. I then phoned the auditor, apologised and asked for another 30 minutes. At 11:30 a.m, I was at the venue.
At about 12:30 p.m, I received the call for the article. While in meetings, I normally do not answer calls from unknown numbers. But this time I felt like taking the call. I asked the auditor to excuse me so that I answer the call. I joked that perhaps the call would be the one that pays for their services. He accepted and I took the call. The rest is history. Clearly, my work is not that of work-life balance but rather work-life integration.
Forbes, an American magazine has this to say about the different generations and work:
· Baby boomers 1946 - 1964 who worked during the hard times were concerned about work stability.
· Generation X 1965 – 1980 focused on the balance aspect, embracing remote work trends and using paid time off to focus on family and work outside the office.
· Millennials 1981 – 1996 care about how the work integrates with their life.
I suppose the generation Z may look at work as a lifestyle! Things are changing fast and we need to define what meaningful work means for us. Will it be work-life balance or work-life integration?
What to consider as you navigate the work place
How does the work or career path fulfill the following?
- Integrate with your personal mission, vision and values.
- Support flexible work for you to live all through the different life stages.
- Create a healthy work culture that makes time for factors such as healthy habits, time off, mindfulness and other tools you need to succeed.
- Support investments in technology that can help you to do your work on the go as you collaborate with others in or out of the office.
