Comments on: We all have a different definition of work-life balance

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:30:06 +0000

Hmmm…I guess all I can say is that I’m sorry you feel that way, Oren. But I don’t agree that my career is meaningless, and I don’t find simple pleasure in doing nothing at all. I get bored doing nothing. I do think you’re right that many people feel as you do. It’s sad. What’s the answer?

By: Oren

Oren — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:19:49 +0000

I think the flaw is that you would skip the hike in order to take the call. There is something fundamentally wrong in a world where we are prevented from enjoying the world and all it has to offer because we have to “pay the bills”. We are really much worse off than people in primitive societies. Who go on a hunt for a few hours a week and then spend the rest of their time telling stories around a campfire and playing with their children or having sex, or whatever. I mean–call me cynical if you will–our careers are actually meaningless and we perform the duties for lack of greater meaning in our lives. We can work and work and work, but in the end…what does it all amount to? And is it any more meaningful than the simple pleasure of doing nothing at all?

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By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:50:37 +0000

Simmi–I like that term! Work-life integration, that does really describe how I feel about it.

Kirsten–I agree with you, I have been on my own for almost ten years now and it’s impossible to imagine going back to a typical office environment.

Thank you both for your comments. I wonder if we’ll get anyone disagreeing with us?

By: Simmi

Simmi — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:04:28 +0000

Couldn’t agree more with you. to me life-work balance is not about ability to drop work altogether and focus on a hike or about forgetting all about my laundry and kids and just chase an almost never ending to-do list.

Balance to me is when I close my eyes and rest my head on a pillow at the end of the day, to feel satisfied that my project proposal got great feedback and my kids enjoyed some Mom-cooked pasta. that I was able to catch up with that must-listen podcast and speak to my Mom.

Think about it – how about calling it work-life integration and not work-life balance?

By: Kirsten Ly

Kirsten Ly — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:40:37 +0000

Thanks for your thoughtful article. I find, too, as someone who has my own business in a creative profession, that it’s nearly impossible to shut off my work brain when I’m with family (nor do I always want to!), and as a mom of 3, it’s impossible to forget about my kids when I’m working. I have one “to do” list with everything on it–work deadlines, kids school deadlines, and my own personal stuff–because that’s how my life works. There are no compartments; it’s a total meshing together of activities. I don’t think I could go back to a typical office work environment, where you have to pretend to only be human on the weekends.