Work-Life Balance; Or, Better, Work-Non-Work Balance
"Work-life balance" is a phrase that suggests a notion that work is one distinct entity and that life is another distinct entity, both of which can be weighed against each other as if with a balance scale. This implies that when you have one, you do not have the other, so you have to find the correct amount of work that enables you to live your life. The phrase supposes that although work may provide a means to life, it is not life itself.
This suggestion is misguided. Work is life. Speaking for the average and the majority, there is no way around that; humans are social animals biologically wired to contribute good to their tribe1. When they do this, they generally feel fulfilled and happy. And unfortunately, good is not often produced by lazing. Good is generally produced by work. This makes sense, as "good" is well described as "goods". That which produces literal goods also produces good, be it paintings, timber, berries, raw bison, poetry, mathematics or whatever else we commonly recognize as useful.
Some may think, particularly if they have had no choice but to slavishly work for their entire lives (be it due to their school systems, capitalist governments, destitution, et c. that are lived under), that life would be better if they could simply not work. Frankly, this workless life may bring momentary bliss. However, in a few short months (or years in the most exceptional of cases), liberty to do anything would transmute to borderline depressive meaninglessness. Liberty to do whatever translates to analysis paralysis and complacency. One would think, "With so much to do, and none of it being necessary, why bother choosing arbitrary goals to accomplish?"
Work, even when it pays little and/or is thankless, seems to me to lead to greater wellbeing. There are a lot of reasons for this:
- Most lines of work contribute in some way to the broader world and make an impact, even if that work is as "trivial" as harvesting plantains or trading stocks. In some cases, employees can be oblivious to their impact, but they always implicitly know that working for a company elevates the company worked for and thus helps all the company's other employees.
- Short social interactions with random strangers (the askance glares, awkward smiles, idle small talk) keep our brains sane, allowing us to subliminally realize that we are not isolated or abandoned; we have community, even if it is not an ideal community.
- Friendships and acquaintanceships are circumstantially created through most jobs as coworkers naturally gravitate toward one another (to varying degrees for each individual, of course).
It is these last two points that incalculably accumulate to uplift the employee's wellbeing. It is also easy to discount these, not realizing how important they truly are.
In sum, work is not just a chore we have to do, it is an enriching activity we are honored to get to do. Work does not siphon life; work is an inherent part of life. On the even brighter side, when work is truly aligned with the employed's goals or when the work itself is just plain fun, work can be more than just an antidote for meaninglessness; it can be riveting, thrilling, emotionally satisfying, and more.
Imagine a formerly orphan woman who works tirelessly to grow her orphanage. Can you imagine that woman defining her work in terms of "work-life balance"?
Now let's retire the phrase "work-life balance" and replace it with "work-non-work balance".