A Work-Life Balance Tipping Point

By Terri L. Rhodes, CCMP, CLMS, CPDM, MBA

President and CEO
DMEC

Most of us seek balance in life, and we are really good at advising others to do the same. Achieving that balance, however, is not always easy even though we know that when we invest more time in work than other aspects of our lives, it can affect our health and wellness. There’s a glut of information about how to achieve work-life balance, a concept we started talking about in the ‘70s and ‘80s. At the time, it was nothing more than words. A fallacy for those — especially women — who wanted to advance their careers, and some believed the imbalance was a price to be paid for achievement.

But there’s been a marked shift with younger generations, who are better at maintaining boundaries. The concept of work-life balance has gained traction as well as new terminology. Researchers say “work-life balance” implies a “binary opposition between work and life” when it’s synergy we seek, which is why work-life integration¹ is more appropriate.

Semantics aside, the concept has gone from theory to practice, which is a good thing when you consider rates of burnout and medical conditions prompted or exacerbated by chronic stress.

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